GW Ouroboros Pt 1: What Friends Are For
by Black-Haired Girl
Summary: Part 1 Series: GW Ouroboros. Preventer offers Heero a new mission, will he accept it and leave everything and everyone he knows behind? Duo is determined to cancel that order. Working with the rest of the old Operation Meteor team they will come together to bring their own brand of peace to the Earth-Sphere.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

Another boring staff meeting and security briefing.

Duo Maxwell sat at the back of a packed conference room surrounded by his colleagues. Professors, secretaries, student teachers, janitors, counselors and anyone essential for the operations and everyday maintenance of a college. Today was just another meeting, like so many before it, where the head of the school droned on about numbers, student surveys and what the professors had been failing to accomplish all semester. He felt his eyes blurring and crossing from the sheer monotony of it all. He watched as the Dean of Academics stood in front of the crowd and launched into her usual rant. Seated beside where she stood was Wufei, stiff collar and round glasses, nodding in rhythm with the points the dean was ticking off.

" _Damn that Wufei Chang_ ", Duo quietly grumbled under his breath. A young, stern looking professor who was seated beside him leveled a sideways glance his way before obediently turning back to fall into rhythmic nods with Wufei.

"…Furthermore, it is imperative that we make sure the students here at the Unified Space Colonies College feel safe and secure in their studies and their lives on campus… "

Duo sighed and rested his chin heavily in hand and resisted the urge to grumble any more. He was never one for formalities or lectures, which was one of the reasons he didn't go back to school after the wars. Sitting in a classroom having someone else tell you how to think just didn't bode well with him. He was tired of people telling him what to do, how to live, or what to believe. It had been hard enough as a kid having the nuns and the church teaching him one thing, while the world and all of its backassward politics and politicians touted something else. He was free to do as he wanted, to be who he wanted to be, and to develop whatever life philosophy he saw fit. He didn't need anyone confusing him while he discovered it.

He sighed into his palm and closed his eyes, welcoming the calm and solitude of his private and personal darkness. The dean was still speaking, but her voice seemed far away and small compared to the heavy whooshing of blood pounding in his ears. He was free. Finally. Free from poverty. Free from the war. Free from his role as a terrorist. Free from mobile suits, death and the cycle of violence that had ensnared him his entire adolescent life. It was finally over. He could start over again. He was on a new colony, with new people and holding a new job that, while he may not have chosen it initially, was a good paying gig that could support any endeavor he chose to pursue.

 _So why do I still feel like shit_ , he thought morosely. He reluctantly opened his eyes again at the sound of the faculty applauding the dean's speech. The dean nodded her head to signal that everyone was dismissed and the staff began to disperse, leaving only a few people behind in the conference room. Duo saw Wufei by the door speaking with one of the lab instructors. He seemed so in his element. He never was one for talking when they were younger. In fact while they were both detained during the war Wufei had hardly said anything. Now he seemed so at ease, so comfortable. He commanded an authority Duo had never seen in him before. Sure, he was always mightier-than-thou in the past but here he just seemed to belong. He was softer somehow, more flexible and open. His body language was relaxed. No longer did Wufei have the tense, crossed-arm stance he sported during the war. He leaned against tables, readily shook hands with his colleagues, and let his arms dangle limply at his side. His face was almost pleasant at times, his eyebrows no longer a knot in the center of his forehead. He belonged here. He was an academic. A thinker. These were his people.

Duo knew he didn't belong but he didn't know where else to go. He had tried a stint with the Preventers shortly after the war, but the work was too rigid and he found himself having a hard time following protocol. He had never had to work under those kinds of conditions during the war. He was just handed a mobile suit and told to accomplish a mission. There were no other instructions. He got a mission and then he accomplished it. He was left to his own devices. His own methods. There were loose codes of conduct in battle but those rules were often broken. War was a messy game but one that he had excelled in.

The Preventers had been interesting at first but he had been forced to resign after a few write-ups and disciplinary actions. It was frustrating work and there was more paperwork to file than actual fieldwork, which Duo had found extremely tedious and boring. So maybe he had cut a few corners, broke a few rules, ignored a couple of orders and cussed out a couple of commanding officers…

Wufei had seemed to thrive in the Preventers, but around the time Duo was having his third disciplinary action their Chinese philosopher had suddenly dropped out of the agency and began a teaching career at the newly established college on the completed space colony X-18999. Six months later Duo had dropped out of Preventers and shortly after received a phone call from Wufei who had been on the planet that week for a work related trip. They had caught up over lunch and somehow by the end of the visit Duo had been sold on moving out to X-18999 to take on a systems maintenance job at the college.

It wasn't a bad job. Duo needed hardly any training when he first arrived. His self-taught knowledge and study of computer hardware and networking systems definitely helped give him a marketable skill set. It had only been four months since he started his position and he practically ran everything on his own. He was given a small team of newly graduated IT students and a computer programming major to delegate work to. The other members of his team were all older than him but none of them seemed to mind being commanded by a nineteen-year-old former Gundam pilot. They all knew about his past but nobody ever brought it up. Sometimes Duo wished he had someone to talk to about it but most days he was thankful he could carry on like nothing had ever happened. Nobody on X-18999 really cared who he was or what he had done which was a stark contrast to the people of Earth. He had lost count of how many times he had been chased down in the streets of Cinq for either an autograph or a death threat.

"I commend you."

Duo was suddenly snapped back from his wandering thoughts to the harsh reality that was the now frustratingly bright conference room. Wufei had parted from his conversation to stand in front of him and was peering down through his absurdly round classes at him.

"Erm, for what?" Duo managed to utter before jumping to his feet. He smoothed out the front of his polo shirt and straightened the lanyard around his neck that held his ID and security pass.

"You didn't fall asleep this time," Wufei said with a smirk.

"Trust me, I was teetering on the edge," Duo replied. He picked his tablet up from the table and tucked it under his arm. Wufei huffed and fell into step beside him as he made his way out of the conference room.

"I am assuming you didn't absorb much of the brief, so I will highlight key points for you." Wufei said while acknowledging a few of his coworkers as they walked down the hallway. "Last month's bomb threats were investigated but they can't seem to find the source. None of the usual protest groups, terrorists and the like has claimed responsibility. The dean is concerned that even if they are just pranks from lazy students trying to get out of exams the business of the college will continue to be disrupted. She thinks that enrollment for the next semester is down because the locals don't feel the school is safe. I suggested that she hire a few outside security agencies to assess the situation and possibly manage the threats as they come."

Duo blinked and paused in mid-step to glance over at his colleague. "You mean, you asked her to have the Preventers come and check it out." Wufei nodded. Duo grunted in disapproval.

"Preventers are one option, but I was thinking about calling Quatre and asking him if he could lend some of his manpower from his local investigative office. He still has a large presence here on the colony ever since he completed its major construction. I haven't spoken to him in a while, but I suggested that the dean contact him and ask for his assistance. She said she would reach out to both agencies and get them to collaborate with local law enforcement and campus police. The reason I am bringing this up to you, Duo, is that if Quatre does come he will probably bring Heero."

Duo stopped and spun around to face Wufei. At the mention of the former Wing pilot's name his face began to grow hot. "Why the hell would Heero be-"

Wufei grabbed Duo's shoulder and narrowed his dark eyes through his glasses. "Calm down." A student hurried past them on his way to class and another faculty member standing at the end of the hallway watched them curiously. Duo tensed under Wufei's firm grasp and felt his anger rising like acid, boiling and churning relentlessly in his chest. "Heero has been working for Quatre for the past month. He was suspended from the Preventers once they started an investigation on the Angora Mission. They started his phase of the investigation shortly after you left. Quatre is charged with keeping an eye on him while they investigate. Catherine e-mailed me about it. Heero is currently helping Quatre with his restructuring of the resource mines in L3. Heero being monitored by Quatre and his men are one provision for his release."

Duo's hands balled into fists. "So, you knew he was here on X-18999 and you didn't feel the need to mention it to me?" He felt his words slip through his now tightly clenched teeth, the venom in them undeniable. Wufei shook his head and squeezed Duo's shoulder.

"I didn't think it was worth upsetting you over. However, I thought you should know now because they may show up here and Heero may become involved."

Duo shrugged Wufei's hand from his shoulder and shook his head. "Tell Quatre not to bring him, then."

Wufei sighed. "That isn't an option. Quatre is charged with watching him."

"Then tell Quatre to send his men instead. Why didn't you tell me Heero was here on the colony? Jesus, Chang!" Duo felt as if the ground was spinning. He turned on his heels and stomped in the direction of his office. He could hear Wufei calling his name behind him, but once he got his forward momentum there was no going back. He slammed his office door closed for good measure though the action did nothing to relieve the pressure building in his arms and legs. He felt heavy, as if every cell in his body were gradually hardening into lead. One of his IT team members, a middle aged graduate, looked up from her console at his sudden noisy entrance. She must have seen the seething anger on his face because after looking up she vanished quickly behind her monitor and began noisily typing, trying not to get involved.

He trudged sullenly to his desk, sat down and opened a work order and stared at the words on the screen. He couldn't manage to connect the required synapses to process what they said.

Heero was on the colony. Wufei knew, and failed to mention it to him. He just wanted to punch something. Frantically he grabbed a large yellow ball from the corner of his desk. It was a foam stress ball in the shape of a goofy cartoon sun that, ironically, Quatre had given to him for his birthday the year before. He began viciously squeezing it. With every compression the wide grin on the sun's cheery face contorted into a gaping visage of agony.

SQUISH. SQUEEZE. SQUISH.

 _That bastard is here. I could have run into him at any time and Wufei didn't have the nerve to even mention it to me!_

SQUEEEEEZE

 _What if I had run into him? What if I had gone to the park and saw that sunnovabitch… I would have fucking killed him and then what?_

SQUIIIIISHHHHHH

 _GoddamnmotherfuckingHeeroFuckingYuyFuckThatGuyMotherFuckingShitBagDonkeyFucking_ -

CRUSH SMOOSH SLAM!

The happy sun bounced of his desk and rolled away to find sweet sanctuary beneath a nearby bookcase covered in tangles of cords, wires, cables and other mysterious adapters that had no other home. Duo stood abruptly and began to grab his things.

"I am calling it a day," he spat out quickly as he retreated from the office. He couldn't get off the campus quick enough. He practically ran to the transit station and hopped on the red line metro. He slumped to a sit and stared out the window as the train waited for more passengers to board.

 _What am I doing?_ He felt as if he were outside his own body, unable to control it. The doors to the train began to slide closed. He watched as it pulled away from the station. The platform where the blue train -the one that went in the direction of his apartment-began to shrink away in the distance. He was going the opposite direction.

He began to bounce his knee feverishly, becoming more anxious as they passed stop after stop. He couldn't bring himself to get up and disembark. He began to grow unbearably tense the longer he rode it. Finally the announcement for Iria Square chimed on the intercom overhead. He felt his body spring up from his seat and soon he was running up the escalator to the city square, named after Quatre's late sister, where all of the Winner Corporation colony operations buildings were stationed.

He had only passed through this area once. Upon surfacing from the metro he was greeted by an ornate city square lined with modest but modern multi-story buildings. The center of the square featured a small grass park littered with various statues and Middle Eastern styled structures. The square boasted a pretty courtyard with a modern sandstone fountain stood flanked by large flower boxes overflowing with pastel purple and pink Acacia flowers and enormous, bobbing hibiscus blossoms. It was serene and a lovely tribute to the sister Quatre had so violently lost only a handful of years before.

However, the beauty and thoughtfulness was lost on Duo. He looked upon the decadence of the square with the same consideration as he would a plastic shopping bag in a gutter. He was too angry, too harnessed by his rage to think of anything in particular.

He was seething. He could barely focus on a single thought. Hurt, anger, and frustration fed his fervor. It was as if he were a man possessed. It wasn't until he reached the top of the five cement steps to the Winner Corporation Headquarters that he realized where he was and the potential repercussions for what he was about to do. The two massive automatic glass doors hissed open to reveal the front lobby. The lobby itself was sparse and shockingly utilitarian compared to the décor just outside in the square. A single security guard, clearly a Maganac by his uniform, stood behind a plain wooden desk with a tablet PC and a single phone.

The sight of the Maganac sent a shockwave through Duo's body.

What was he doing? Why did he come here? What did he hope to accomplish by coming all this way?

He felt sick. He backpedaled and jogged down the steps back toward the center of the square. A matching stone bench between two low, oblong planters had been placed just behind a large trellis covered in fragrant Jasmine. He collapsed on the bench and stared at the gurgling fountain, his mind strangely empty.

 _This is ridiculous. I am being stupid,_ he scolded himself. He leaned down and buried his face in his hands. He felt the weight of his long coil of hair tip over his shoulder and thump against his chest, its long silken tendrils pooling in his lap.

He couldn't think. He took a few deep breaths. The perfume of the flowers was surprisingly comforting. Finally his mind began to calm. He kneaded his forehead with his fingertips and sighed heavily before pushing himself up to a sit. He looked around the square. It was nearly 5pm and there were quite a few people milling about around the buildings and gathering at the metro station, preparing to end their workdays and go home to their families.

Family.

Duo had once considered Heero family. He had never had much in the way of family. Sure, he had the church orphanage when he was little, but he never felt like he truly belonged there. Solo, his only childhood friend, had once been family to him. Their brotherhood had been fleeting and just as soon as it had begun Solo succumbed to the deadly fever that claimed so many lives on L2. Sister Helen had died in his arms, the only mother he had ever known. Father Maxwell was murdered. Everything and everyone he had ever loved or considered close to him had died. He had become the "God of Death" then, because Death needed nothing. Nobody.

Then he had met the other pilots, and despite his vow to never let anyone get close to him again he learned to love them. They became his family. His brothers in arms. Mission after mission he felt closer to them. Wufei had always been so guarded during the war, but now Duo considered him a close friend. Trowa was always open and honest, and what was not to love about Quatre? Then there was Heero…

Heero had been the closest thing to a brother that he had ever had. The closest thing to Solo he could have ever hoped for. Sure, Heero had fucked him over plenty of times at the beginning. He threatened to kill him at gunpoint. He stole his mobile suit parts. He sucker punched him for the sake of the mission. He left him behind more than once for one reason or another, but every time he had reasonable justification.

What happened back in Cinq had no good reason. Heero had no excuse for what he had done. Duo had never felt such betrayal in his whole short life. Not from the soldiers who had lied to him as a child and killed his church family. Not from the people of the colonies and Earth for turning their back on him. He couldn't give a flying fuck about any of them. The one person who he thought knew him, who he could trust with anything and everything, had thrown him under the bus for his own personal gain. It wasn't about the mission. There wasn't a greater good. Heero had fucked him over, and what was worse, he had no remorse for it.

Duo felt his shoulders tense. The muscles on the back of his neck began to tighten and bunch up at his nape. His body began to ache from the stress of his sustained anger. He felt suddenly very tired. He leaned back against the stone bench and stared at the fountain, watching the glistening water take to air before careening down to gather in a crystal pool lined with octagonal sandstone border highlighted by pale blue stones, the same color as all Quatre and all of his many sister's eyes. Quatre had family. Trowa had a sister. Wufei had lost his colony, but he had grown quite close to Sally Po in his time with the Preventers. Heero had Relena. They all had each other.

Duo frowned and closed his eyes. He could remember every detail of what had happened. He remembered the rain. The rain was coming down in sheets, in a way that only ever happened on Earth. Heavy, pouring rain, unlike the regulated sprinkling of the watering systems on the colonies. They were on a stakeout. The subject was a man suspected of arms dealing. He had entered a hotel with a woman seven hours before but had yet to surface. It was 4:32 am and Heero had taken first shift so Duo was awake and watching while Heero slept in the passenger seat of their undercover sedan. He could remember Heero's light, steady breathing, keeping in time with the pounding rain. He turned the radio on to try and stay awake, but kept the volume so low you could barely hear the tune over the noise of the rain outside. He was getting tired. It had been 7 hours and the guy had yet to show up. He could still taste the stale convenience store coffee he had been drinking. Finally he had spotted some movement by the front door of the hotel. The man they had been following ducked out into the rain in a dark coat and hat and was rushing to hail a taxi. Duo elbowed Heero and his partner had snapped up to a sit, his eyes wide and alert as if he had never been asleep. The man boarded the taxi, and Duo had followed it to a warehouse district. At long last they were going to find the location of the arms dealing operation they had been investigating for nearly 11 months. The taxi stopped on a back street in front of a distribution center for Angora, a local chain of supermarkets. They waited until the man entered a small access door beside a larger metal industrial overhead door before running through the rain to cautiously enter the building.

Duo remembered the smell. Wood from the pallets, oil from the trucks, and the ether-like odor of the coolant from the refrigeration rooms. They had worked to clear the door and walkways as a team until they found the subject alone in a side office. He was flipping through a file cabinet. Heero approached the man at gunpoint. Duo followed suit. They told him to put the files down. The man seemed to comply, but then suddenly brandished a small handgun from the file cabinet. He shot at Heero, but missed. Duo could still hear the bullet as it whizzed by their heads and planted itself in the wall between them. Heero dropped to the ground and Duo pulled back to duck outside the door. He could barely see Heero from around the doorframe. The man was shooting at him but missing. Heero was on the ground, but not shooting back.

They had orders not to kill the man but to bring him in. He was the kingpin, the person who would lead them to so many other distributors and dealers. Months of tracking and research had finally led them to this point. This was it. They finally had their man. Duo heard the guy yell out. He looked around the corner and saw that Heero had knocked the guy in the head with something he found on the ground, and stunned him long enough to get behind him. They were struggling. Duo had his weapon trained on the guy, but couldn't get close enough to disarm him.

Heero was behind the subject. They were wrestling. Everything was moving so fast but finally Heero managed to knocked the gun out of the guy's hand and was holding him at gunpoint. The man was holding his hands up. Heero ordered him to lie on the floor. Duo was in the process of getting his handcuffs out when a gunshot rang out from the doorway. In less than millisecond Heero was struck in the neck. The man on the floor was rolling under his desk. He shoved Heero backward. Heero was sitting on the floor with his gun pointed toward the door behind Duo. A bullet flew by Duo's face and struck something behind him. He turned and saw a man fall to the ground, a gaping bullet hole oozing in the center his forehead. Their target, the man under the desk, was grabbing for something in a drawer. Another gun. Heero was pointing his weapon at the man, telling him to drop it and all Duo remembered after that was blood. The smell of blood. The taste of blood in his mouth as he bit his own lip. The sight of blood trickling down the center of his partner's chest from a gushing wound in the side of his neck. Heero had been gasping for breath, coughing up blood, pointing and rasping orders at their target, who was then lowering his muzzle to point it at Duo's partner. His friend. His brother.

So Duo pulled the trigger. The subject froze, his hand went limp and he dropped his gun and landed with a loud slam against the desk and then slumped lifelessly to the floor.

Everything up until that point was as clear to Duo as if it had happened only hours before. All the events after that point were a chaotic blur. He had run up to Heero and tried to stop the bleeding. Heero was fading, coming in and out of consciousness. Duo had called dispatch for help and just held Heero and tried to get him to breathe. It felt like an eternity but they finally showed up. A medical team came and carted Heero away. Duo couldn't move. He had sat on the ground, covered in his best friend's blood, in complete and utter shock. He had seen Heero in rough shape plenty of times before. The guy was always getting injured. However, he had never seen him lying lifeless like that. He hadn't seen that much blood since the Maxwell Church massacre.

The mission had been a disaster. It wasn't a complete failure. The recovery team had managed to get some documents from the file cabinet that would lead them to other suspects, but there was no evidence that could incriminate anyone. The man they hoped to convict and use to track down others had been killed. There were no weapons on the property.

Heero had been put on medical leave and was admitted to a regional hospital. Duo went to visit him every day he was there. Heero had some damage to his larynx, which made talking difficult. The specialist ordered him not to speak so they communicated through a notepad. Duo had apologized to Heero for not being able to stop the subject from shooting him, but Heero had only replied, "STOP" on the notepad. Duo was just happy his friend wasn't dead.

An investigation had been conducted on the assignment. Duo had killed the subject, which he was ordered explicitly not to do. It wasn't the first time Duo had disobeyed an order. This was his third offense. He was technically on probation from the last order he had ignored, but this was the first time he had killed anyone while wearing a Preventer's uniform, and he felt like they were trying to make an example of him. As much as the Preventer's mission was to stop violence and the use of weapons, they themselves frowned greatly on the use of force and touted themselves as a pacifist organization. He stood before a panel of fellow agents and told them everything that happened, and explained that if he had not stopped the subject Heero would have been killed. Investigators argued that Heero had a bulletproof vest. They said he knew what the risks were when he took the case, and that he put himself in a compromised position by rushing into the situation without properly securing the area or calling for backup. They blamed Heero for his own injury.

It had all been too much for Duo. He had given up on the Preventers. He took off his uniform jacket and threw it on the ground. He then ripped off his badge and slammed it on the table in front of Sally. He lamented that they were all morons and that they couldn't treat him like that. He explained that his friend was the best agent they had, and they didn't deserve him either. He told them where they could shove their protocols and stormed out of the hearing and went straight to the hospital.

When Duo arrived at Heero's room the Japanese agent was finishing writing his statement outlining what had happened. Duo had explained how they were trying to put them blame on them, and that he quit and that they didn't need their ridiculous organization anyway. Heero sat there and patiently listened to Duo rant and rave for nearly half an hour about the injustice of it all before handing Duo the statement he had written. Duo read it, and it had matched his own statement.

"They are just going to blame you," Duo had said. Heero nodded.

"But you weren't wrong!" Duo had exclaimed, incredulous. He had watched as Heero grabbed another piece of paper and began to write something.

"WE WERE BOTH WRONG."

Duo was floored. What did he mean they were WRONG? He was dumbstruck. He tried to tell Heero that he was a great agent and that they could find better work somewhere else. That his skills were incomparable, and that the Preventers didn't deserve him. Heero started to write something else.

"I'M NOT LEAVING."

Duo was angry. _Why?_ Why would Heero stay with an organization that would put the blame on him? Why would he stay with a group that clearly didn't value his life, and treated him as an expendable commodity? Heero began to calmly write. He slid the paper across the small side table towards Duo and then looked at him with a serious, determined gaze.

"THERE CAN BE NO PEACE WITHOUT THE PREVENTERS. I MUST STAY."

"But I quit!" Duo had exclaimed, feeling angry. How could Heero choose to stay with the Preventers after the way they treated him? Didn't he want to stay a team? Didn't he care that they were going to terminate him? Heero reached over to add to the bottom of his last statement. He wrote slowly, as if regretful for his next words.

"YOU BROKE PROTOCOL. YOU WERE WRONG."

The words were like a slap in the face. A sharp pain emanated from his stomach. He stared at Heero's small, blocky handwriting in disbelief. He saved him. Duo had saved Heero's life, and this was the repayment he got. He would rather have died for the mission than have his life spared by his friend? He would rather stay with this crooked, self-serving organization than leave and be with him? The organization that would have rather seen them both dead, shot in the damn head, as long as they got their information?

Duo felt betrayed. He began to pace around the hospital room, words just pouring from his mouth as his heart began to break.

"I have stuck through everything with you, Heero-fucking-Yuy. I have broken you out of military compounds and prisons. I have faced hell on the battlefield with you more times than I can count. I have helped you set broken bones, stitch your wounds, fix your mobile suit. I have done everything you have ever asked me to. I have been there for you through everything. EVERYTHING. You are stupid. You are a god damn fool. There will never be peace. We can never be normal. You go… go right ahead and stay there with those ungrateful assholes. They have no idea what they are doing. They are gonna get you killed. You are going to die for nothing! You have so much more to give the world, and they would rather use you are a fucking lure for some low level criminal than let you do work that can make a fucking difference. Fine. Stay. You are just as delusional as they are!"

Duo marched to the door and bit back the sob that was attempting to leap from his throat. "You won't betray Preventers, but you would throw me under the bus? Fine. Don't you ever EVER speak to me again. You are dead to me."

Then he had left. He had left the hospital. He had left Cinq. He had left Earth.

Now here he was, on X-18999 in a peaceful garden, feeling at war with his emotions. He knew he had blown up. He had so many long nights alone to think about it. He may have walked out of there that day and left the situation but he was still unhappy about it. He had no closure from it.

He reached down to toy with the end of his braid absently, a nervous fiddling gesture he often did when he was deep in thought. He was still angry with Heero. He wanted to punch him in his face, and if the guy hadn't been in the hospital on the mend he would have. He was still pissed at the Preventers and all of the agents who had grilled him. He was angry. He wasn't sorry he had shot that guy in the head. He would have done it all over again if he had to. He didn't care what the protocol said. He didn't care about the mission. No amount of information or data would be worth losing Heero over.

Except he had. He had lost Heero anyway.

He took a deep breath and stood up. His legs felt like jello and he was tired. He wanted nothing more than a cold beer and to go to bed. He had to put this day behind him. He couldn't dwell on this anymore. He had spent so many months going through the motions, pretending nothing had happened, only to have this bullshit flung back into his lap and with it all of the emotional turmoil he could stomach.

He made his way slowly to the metro station and climbed into the blue line train. He found himself replaying the events of that night over and over in his head the entire ride home. He began to feel numb. His fingers were so numb he could barely fish out his door key to enter his room. He was greeted by Milo, the stray alleycat he had taken in when he first moved in 4 months ago. He went to lay on the floor in his living room so the cat could rub happily against his face and shoulders in greeting. He stared at his ceiling. He felt his pocket vibrate. Someone was trying to call him. He ignored it. It buzzed again. He reached in his pocket to tap the silence button. Milo, finally satiated, settled in a tight ball on his chest and began to purr loudly. Duo closed his eyes. He could see Heero's bloody visage in his mind's eye.

"That fucking idiot," he muttered.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

The following morning Duo showed up to work weary but eager to move on. He had bid his cat goodbye with extra treats and hugs. He had listened to his favorite, upbeat music the entire ride on he metro. He was finally getting over it. It would be a new day. The past was the past and there was no use dwelling in it.

When his train pulled up to the campus metro stop Duo noticed that it was more crowded than usual. Students and faculty were all crammed on the platform looking down at their phones with sullen expressions and anxious faces. He quickly made his way to the exit, which upon closer inspection was roped off by emergency tape. Two large, commanding looking men in the purple uniforms of the Maganacs Corps stood at the entrance. A few students were standing nearby, frantically asking questions of them. The Maganacs were shaking their heads and gesturing toward the walkway that led to campus. They weren't letting anyone pass.

Duo jogged over to greet them. One of the men Duo was certain he had met at some point in the past. The men were loyal to Quatre and had faithfully served him and his family for years. It was very likely he had met both of these men in his dealings with Quatre at some point in their Gundam careers.

"What is going on?" Duo asked. One of the men bowed his head in greeting.

"There has been a bomb threat. The facilities have been evacuated. All students and faculty are to return home or to stay away from the campus until the threat has been lifted."

Duo groaned. "Not another one…" He felt himself tense as he looked around. So the Maganacs were already there. The dean had wasted no time in calling on Quatre for help. Beyond the blockade he could see men in women in various uniforms standing on the sidewalk that flanked the Science and Technologies lab. A mixture of campus police, Colony PD and Maganacs were gathered around the Dean of Academics, who was gesturing to the science building. Duo sighed and reached down to fish his phone out of his pocket. Sure enough there was a message from the campus about the bomb threat. It was the second one this month, and the fourth one so far this semester. It said for students to stay home until the threat warning had been lifted. He scrolled through his other messages. One was from Esma, the IT graduate student he had managed to thoroughly freak out the afternoon before with his glum face and hissy fit in the office. She had asked him if he was going to be okay. There was a second message from the campus. It was another update that the status of the threat had not changed. Finally at the bottom of his alerts was a message from Wufei. Duo paused before opening it.

 _ **Bomb threat at the school.  
Quatre and Maganacs responded.  
Meet me at the bookstore.**_

Duo stared down at the message for a long time. It was funny how life worked. You spend one moment complaining to yourself that your life was dull and boring and then in the blink of an eye you get more on your plate than you can possibly handle. He stiffened his back and shoved his phone into his pocket before quickly picking his way through the tense crowd on the platform toward the north entrance of the metro. The exit emptied out onto a quaint, crowded street littered with eateries and cafes that serviced the college and its patrons. He wove through the crowd, overhearing statements of annoyance and fear from a few students, before he finally made it to the bookstore.

There were many bookstores around campus, but this one was Wufei's favorite. They had met there a few times. It was called **The Way We Were** , and it was a tiny hole in the wall filled with mostly historical nonfiction and biographies. Wufei loved them. His small apartment downtown was filled from floor to ceiling with books about ancient wars, philosophers, human evolution and autobiographies from war heroes, politicians and great thinkers. Duo had always felt like out of everyone Wufei should publish his own autobiography. His life had been fascinating. Wufei wasn't one to divulge much about his past, but what little Duo could gather of his friend's story was gut wrenching, thrilling and so passionate that it made his own melodramatic past seem pathetic and uninspired. Wufei had been something before the war. He had lost everything. Literally. His colony, everyone he had ever known, his identity. He had become a great warrior. He stood up for what he believed in and never wavered from his path or beliefs, even if they were against everything everyone else believed. He was amazing at everything he did. He was the best at everything he put his mind to. He really, truly was remarkable. Duo had tried to talk him into writing it many times over coffee, but Wufei was too private and would never throw his story out to the wolves. Sadly his inspiring past would never be put to paper.

Duo spotted Wufei standing just inside the cramped, moldy smelling store holding a book with the title, " _Ataturk, The Father of the Turkish Nation_."

"So, someone is trying to avoid taking their physics final today?" Duo quipped as he settled into a casual stance beside his friend. Wufei smiled and nodded as he thumbed slowly through the pages of the book. It was strange seeing someone holding a book. Everything was digital now and the students rarely ever carried any around campus. There were plenty of bookstores around the property, but they merely served as curiosity shops for those younger students who never grew up with a single book or piece of paper in their home. Old souls like Wufei were hopeless collectors of the printed word. Others simply entered the shops for the experience of the smell and the feel of the brittle, crumbling pages in their hands. Duo always found the smell of old books to be unpleasant. It reminded him too much of Father Maxwell's study. The old priest had had a large collection of bibles and religious text that he had imported all the way from Earth.

"Yes, so it seems." Wufei closed the book and set it on top of a stack of other faded, peeling biographies with such careful consideration you would have thought he was handling the Holy Chalice of Christ. "The threat was sent to the head of security at four this morning. They called Quatre shortly after. They have been here for a few hours. There was talk about installing a trace system on the calls that would immediately activate security cameras in a hundred foot radius of the threat's source."

Duo frowned and leaned against the open doorway of the shop. "You spoke to Quatre this morning?"

"No. I overheard someone from your IT department talking about it with a security guard. They said they would need to work with your department to outfit the program. Apparently Quatre's men can manage to integrate the school's system with the security and surveillance system of the colony itself. It is just a proposal, apparently. They still have to work out the legalities." Wufei had crossed his arms over his chest and was looking out at the busy street. Duo followed his gaze to a cluster of discreet security cameras mounted on the top of a road sign.

"So, the call gets placed and the security cameras will catch whoever is standing within 100 feet of them based on the location of the call? Sounds like a big project." Duo was impressed. A system like that just couldn't be thrown together out of nowhere. That meant that Quatre already had something similar in place in the security system on the colony. The school being added to that program would require very little work. He frowned and looked over at Wufei, who had begun to tap his chin with a finger, obviously working out the same questions of ethics that Duo was. "If they are working with my department I guess I should be over there."

Wufei nodded silently and stared at the cameras for a moment or two more before looking over at Duo. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

Duo blinked. "What, you're not coming?"

"That's not my job." Duo watched as Wufei reached into a dusty pile to grab another large tome. _World War II, the War to End All Wars_. "I fully intend on making good use of my day off."

Duo smiled and shook his head. "Lazy ass."

"Go to work."

"Yeah, yeah. I am going." Duo started toward the street when he heard Wufei call after him.

"Don't kill him."

Duo's smile broadened. "I won't make any promises!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

The campus was crawling with police. Duo approached the blockade that had been set up in front of the college's main grassy quad and flashed his ID to the nearest officer. A large, burly but tired looking CPD officer had insisted on escorting him to his office. It was eerily quiet on campus. They passed a bomb sniffing dog and his handler on the way down the hall to the System Maintenance department. The door had been propped open and a tall, thin Maganac was standing in the doorway beside a familiar blond figure in a sharp, cream-colored suit. They were looking down at a printout. They hadn't seen Duo as he approached.

"I see they called in the big guns," Duo said cheerily as he grew closer. Quatre's head snapped up from the printout, his reflective blue eyes wide with surprise.

"Duo!" The blond businessman wasted no time closing the distance between them. Before Duo knew it Quatre had wrapped his arms around him for a friendly hug. Duo was shocked. Quatre was huge! It had been almost a year since he had seen his old friend. The last time had been at Relena's Christmas party in Cinq. Quatre had already changed in appearance the last time Duo had seen him. He had been a small waif of a boy during the wars, and at the Christmas party he seemed to mature and grow a little but now he was enormous. He was a full inch taller than Duo and from the feel of his arms around Duo's shoulders he was build like a rock.

"Holy crap, Quatre. Lay of the steroids, will ya?" Duo chided with a grin. He hugged the blond back firmly and smiled. He was genuinely happy to see the former Sandrock Gundam pilot. Quatre laughed and took a step back to give Duo a once over.

"No steroids! I just started training for competitive psicobloc." Quatre smirked and pulled the jacket of his suit closed over his trademark pastel pink oxford. Despite his clearly amazing physique Quatre was still just as humble and modest as ever.

"Psicobloc?" Duo had heard of that sport just recently. It was another name for what was called "deep-water soloing". He recalled watching something about it online where solo climbers would scale enormous inverted cliffs set over water at high tide. It was an extreme sport. No wonder Quatre was so buff.

"Yeah, Trowa got me hooked." Quatre replied. "We were just on the planet in Spain to train. Wow. How good it is to see you. You look great." Quatre's smile was infectious. Duo couldn't help but laugh.

"You liar, I look like shit. Enough about me, tell me what you guys are trying to do here. Let me know how I can help." Duo stepped into the office with Quatre in tow. Inside his techs were all sitting with local law enforcement and a few men with Winner Corporation Technologies polo shirts on, mulling over their consoles and discussing various intricacies of their trade. Quatre took the printout he had been discussing with the Maganac and handed it to Duo. Duo looked over it carefully. It was a proposal for just the system Wufei had said, a surveillance program that would be triggered by a threat to the school. It would be able to trace the call to the exact location it had been made on X-18999 and would start recording images within a specific radius by using local surveillance cameras.

"So, how exactly does this work? What if someone is inside a building at the time when they make the call? How could you know where the call came from?"

Quatre nodded and took a seat across from Duo's desk. "Obviously those are circumstances where we wouldn't be able to track the caller. Basically my idea is that if the caller were nearby we can start recording people as they pass in front of the cameras, let's say, for an hour after the call was made. Using face recognition technologies developed by the police we can identify the people in those areas at the time. Then we can send those identities through a computer to analyze whether they have motive, are associated with an organization, and are part of a law enforcement watch list, etc. It isn't a perfect system but it's a start."

"So…" Duo scrunched his nose and stared down at the proposal. "How is this legal?"

Quatre frowned and shook his head. "It is pretty invasive. It is only a proposal right now. We have sent it to the colony council to be reviewed and have the appropriate lawyers assess whether it violates any privacy rights." Quatre shrugged and tapped the printout with a finger. "It will merely use data that the colony is already collecting. Public spaces are open to filming and surveillance. The issue we are trying to work out is whether it is legal to give the college access to this information for their own surveys and reports."

Duo nodded and looked over at Esme and the team. They were all poring busily over their computers. "Well, it is great that you are helping the college out, Quatre. This false threat stuff is starting to get out of control."

"Anything to help the colony," Quatre said in a way that reminded Duo so much of the dutiful politicians on the colony council. Quatre had grown up so much. He appeared so responsible and professional. If Duo hadn't known him from their years together during Operation Meteor he would have felt intimidated by him. Especially now. He wasn't the young, baby-faced kid in a flight suit he had once known. Now he was in a designer suit, commanding the corporation responsible for the infrastructure of an entire colony.

"So, I guess before we install anything we have to wait for approval, yeah?" Duo said quickly. "You got time to take a break for a little while?"

Quatre's eyes lit up. Without a moment's hesitation he blurted, "of course I do."

"Well, come on then." Duo wasted no time hopping up from his desk. He grabbed Quatre by his arm and led him out of the office. The Maganac assistant began to follow them.

"Master Winner, what about the meeting with the-"

"Sorry, Ahzar! Let them know I will have to reschedule. I'll be back in a little it. I really am sorry!" Quatre apologized profusely at the stunned looking assistant as he was being dragged out of the building. Duo smiled. Quatre may look more imposing than he used to but he was the same sensitive, polite kid he had always known.

They hurried past the police blockade. Quatre was chuckling as Duo led him down the street towards the cafes and past the metro stop to the bookstore where he had left Wufei a half an hour before. As they approached Duo spotted Wufei sitting at a small café table beside the shop with three books spread out in front of him, his round reading glasses on, tracing a finger over whatever he was reading.

"Hey, Chang! Look who I found."

Wufei looked up from his books and upon seeing Quatre he smiled. "Hello, Quatre." He had taken his glasses off and set them on the table before standing up to hug the tall blond in greeting. "It has been a long time."

Quatre nodded and took a seat across from where Wufei was seated at the table. Wufei returned to his seat and carefully closed the books he had been studying to stack them out of the way and make room for Duo to join them. "It has," Wufei replied. "I am sorry I haven't tried to come see you."

Quatre waved a hand in the air to dismiss the idea. "No, no. It isn't your fault. I should have come to see you when I heard you had taken a teaching position here. I should be the one who is sorry."

Duo rolled his eyes. Quatre and Wufei could always be so formal. "You both are horrible friends," Duo added with a sly grin. Wufei sighed and Quatre laughed.

"If I didn't know any better I would think that Wufei was the one calling in these bomb threats. It seems you are enjoying your day of cancelled classes," Quatre chided with a smile.

Wufei smirked and shook his head. "Sadly it isn't me. My career as a domestic terrorist is over. I am happily retired."

Quatre nodded and gestured to the stack of books. "Well, you seem pretty content in your retirement."

"I am." Wufei set a hand on the top book, entitled **Planck: Driven By Vision, Broken By War** and sighed, his face taking on a thoughtful expression. "How are you enjoying your work here on the colony? It seems your construction projects are all complete."

Quatre sat back in his chair and started to straighten the sleeves of his jacket. "Yes, finally. There were so many delays I thought they would never be completed. We are beginning to move our manpower off colony to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. In fact, that is where Heero is right now with Rashid. We have them collecting data there for a project Relena is trying to start. She wants to establish and Earth and Colony trade arrangement and she is hoping that the asteroid belt produces much needed minerals that Earth needs for energy synthesis." Quatre's eyes settled on Duo, who upon hearing Heero's name shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I heard about what happened in Cinq."

Duo shrugged and shook his head. "What's in the past stays in the past."

Quatre sighed and a frown crossed his face. He locked eyes with Duo and was silent for a long moment. In that silence Duo felt Quatre judging him. "I know he misses you."

Duo blinked and broke the stare. He balked and crossed his arms over his chest. "He shouldn't have fucked me over, then."

"Is that what really happened?" Quatre asked, his tone challenging. Duo felt suddenly very uncomfortable.

"Why don't you ask him?" Duo blurted. He saw Wufei shake his head but the former Shenlong pilot didn't speak. Quatre reached out a hand to grab Duo's wrist in a comforting but firm gesture. Duo couldn't help but look up at Quatre's steady blue stare.

"You two were very close. It would be a shame throw that away," Quatre said softly. Duo grit his teeth and felt his annoyance rising. Why was Quatre pushing the issue? He desperately wanted to change the subject.

"So anyway," Duo said tersely, shaking the blonds' hand off of his wrist. "Quatre's plan to catch the school faux-bomber is pretty promising."

Quatre leaned back in his seat and smiled. "Well, I can't take all of the credit. My team developed the idea. I am just the guy who sells it."

They continued to talk about Quatre's proposal well into the afternoon. They had gone to the neighboring café for sandwiches and coffee before parting ways. An hour after Quatre had left with his Maganac assistant they received approval to install the surveillance program. The install took most of the evening.

Duo had left work well after the campus was closed. The police had determined that there were no explosives on the grounds but the classes had remained cancelled for the rest of the day anyway. He rode the metro home and upon entering his apartment he was greeted by Milo, eager as ever for dinner and back rubs. He sat down on his secondhand couch and stroked the tabby's shaggy back while he skimmed through the news on his tablet. The bomb threat had made it not only on the local colony news but some tickers on the planet as well. He took a long gulp of pale ale he had bought on the way home and browsed the Internet for a few hours. A few drinks later he was writing an e-mail.

 _I saw Quatre today. I am living on X-18999. If you ever end up on the colony stop by._

213 Terrace Place  
Apt H, X-18999  
L3 Cluster, Colony Space Terra 1  
19211-2122-0373.

 _-Duo_

He stared down at the e-mail and let his hand ghost over the send key. He looked over at his cat who was now curled up on the back of the couch sleeping contently. He scanned his sparse apartment, the dim light from the kitchen, and the empty six-pack of ale on the coffee table in front of him.

He deleted the e-mail.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

"So how do you like my present?" Hilde asked as she leaned into the camera, as if trying to look past Duo's image to see if he had opened it. Duo couldn't help but smile at her eagerness.

"I love it, of course. You are the best, Hilde."

"Do you? Well then put it on! I want to see if it fits!"

Duo sighed and looked behind him for the box that had just arrived in the mail that afternoon. Milo had claimed it for himself the moment it had come through the door and the scruffy tabby was sleeping peacefully inside it. Or, more specifically, outside of it since his tubby feline body was too big for it. Duo poked a wayward roll of chub and fur that was spilling over the edge of the shoebox-sized parcel.

"Come on, your majesty. Move your ass," he said lovingly. The cat opened his eyes lazily, regarded him for a long moment and then began to crawl out of the box as slowly as he could. Duo patted his butt a few times to encourage him before digging into the box to pull out a fluffy black sweater. He turned it over in his hands with a smirk before pulling it unceremoniously over his head. He looked down at the large and uneven neon green stripe that had been knitted across the torso. It took him a moment to find the sleeves. He tugged them over his arms and tried not to laugh. They were a little long, and if he were to count the rows he would find that it was uneven, but it was soft and made with love, and that was all that counted. He plopped back to a sit in front of his laptop and smiled down into the camera, holding his arms up into the air so she could see. He made his best Derek Zoolander 'Blue Steel' face and began to sloppily vogue. Hilde laughed.

"Oh, Jesus, you are swimming in that thing. That looks horrible. Oh my God, Duo, take it off!"

Duo shook his head and grinned. "Nope, never. I love it. It is my second skin now. I will never take it off."

Hilde was cackling so loudly the speakers on his laptop were cracking. Duo stopped dancing and leaned into the camera. He waited until Hilde had caught her breath.

"Seriously, Hilde, thank you. I really do love it. It is super soft, and I really did need a sweater. The cool kids at school may beat me up for looking like a dork, but I will tell them the most beautiful woman on L2 made it for me and they will be super jealous."

Hilde rolled her eyes and groaned, "Oh cut it out you charmer. Anyway, happy birthday. I wish I were there with you right now. I would take you out to the bar in that sweater and buy you a few drinks. "

Duo rolled up the sweater's enormous sleeves and sighed. "Honestly, I should be the one there with you. I need to take a vacation. I have a lot saved up now. Maybe I can come help you inventory the scrap yard for a week or two?"

Duo missed L2. He missed Hilde. He had been doing nothing but work and sleep for so long he really needed a break. He saw Milo staring at him from the arm of the couch before the lazy lump made his way back to his box to reclaim it.

"Come here? Please, no. You don't want to be here right now. The protests are getting ridiculous. A few streets away a bunch of the shops were vandalized during a demonstration. Do you remember old Misses Harlem with the flower shop by the war memorial? They busted all of her windows out," Hilde grumbled, her tone clearly disapproving. Protesters had been taking to the streets to speak out against the new militarization of neighboring colony's security forces. Namely L1. Each colony was allowed to have a certain number of policing shuttles and a handful of watered down mobile suits to handle domestic security. However, in recent news reports L1 officials had been caught developing and building technologies that were against the Earth-Sphere peace agreement. L2 wasn't the only colony experiencing protests on this issue. There were plenty of colonists on X-18999 speaking out against it as well.

"So no, don't come here. Besides, it is a vacation you need, not to come work over here. You should go to Earth or something. You know, I have been meaning to take a trip out to see Howard. You should come with me," Hilde said excitedly. She was bouncing in her chair, clapping her hands together in excitement. "We could go somewhere exotic, like the Bahamas or Nepal or Fiji! Say yes. Just say yes. Duo. SAY. YES."

Duo laughed. He loved Hilde's brand of enthusiasm. "Yeah. Okay. Sure," he chirped happily. "You pick the place, I will be there."

Hilde jumped out of her chair. "You won't regret this! I will pick somewhere warm so you won't have to wear that dreadful sweater!"

Duo finished his conversation with Hilde, said his goodbyes and promised to put in a request to take two weeks off for a vacation with her. She said she would send him all of the particulars. He was content with that. He trusted Hilde, and honestly he didn't care where they went as long as he got to spend time with her.

Hilde was a hard worker. He had always admired that about her as well as her drive to help others and to do whatever she thought was right. At the end of the war all of the Gundam pilots were given a government-issued stipend in thanks for their efforts in stopping Mariemaia and saving Relena. It wasn't much, definitely not enough to retire on, but it was just enough for Duo to buy a place on L2 that he could call his own. He purchased the salvage yard in hopes of keeping himself busy. It was in a rough industrial section of town but it was close to where he had grown up. Maxwell Church had been only a few blocks away. He worked there for a while, selling, scrapping and salvaging. Hilde had moved in with him and they had started a casual relationship. It was a weird situation all around. She was like a best friend to him and they had an open and mutual friends with benefits arrangement for a few months before she met a guy she had real romantic feelings for.

Duo smirked and threw himself down to lie on his couch and stare up at the ceiling. He remembered how uncomfortable Hilde was when she sat him down to try and tell him she had found someone else. He had been surprised at himself that he hadn't cared too much about it. He made her promise that they would still be friends. She was ecstatic about it at first, but then things got weird. She didn't want to bring the new guy around, and everything just changed for the worse. She wouldn't come home. She wouldn't bring anyone over. They started talking less and less. Duo knew something had to be done and Sally's correspondence about joining the Preventers had come at the perfect time. He knew he had to leave and give her space if they were going to stay friends. He had taken the position and moved to the Cinq Kingdom, leaving the salvage yard and attached townhouse he had bought with his stipend in her name. She had refused to accept it at first, but after he explained to her how important it was that she stay there and keep a place for him to come home to she reluctantly accepted.

He was glad he could help her out and was happy the boyfriend she had found hadn't ruined their friendship. The guy came and went, but the salvage yard and Hilde were the same.

He smiled and pulled the lopsided collar of the sweater up over his chin. So many shitty things had happened during Operation Meteor and the subsequent war, but he had gained so much from those times of suffering. True friends. He couldn't imagine a time Hilde wasn't his friend. He called her about everything.

She had been the first person he had called after he was canned from the Preventers. She had been pissed for him and, as any true friend would, threatened to come down to the planet and kick everyone's ass for him. She knew how devastated he was that Heero had wronged him and she had sent him bacon flavored and scented novelty gifts to try and cheer him up. He glanced over at his coffee table. In the center was a tray brimming with strange but funny gifts he had accumulated since he moved to X-18999 from Hilde. A bacon and eggs flavored candle (which was truly atrocious), bacon strip gum, a paper weight shaped like a brain, a miniature crossbow with suction cup ammo and targets and a box of chocolates with various exotic fillings like chili pepper, shitake mushroom and fig. He was pretty sure she just opened shopping websites and randomly clicked things at this point, but it did help cheer him up. He would call her and ask her what the hell she was thinking, sending him weird crap like that before demonstrating its use and thanking her for her thoughtfulness.

He frowned and closed his eyes. He really needed Hilde these last few months. The Preventers fiasco had really done a number on his self-esteem. He just couldn't seem to get the hang of being a part of an organization that was so rigid and regulated. He didn't feel like he could contribute to the planning phases of the missions at all. He had been so autonomous for so long during the war that having someone plan out his every move, and then analyze and ridicule those moves was utterly frustrating. He wondered what Heero thought about the system. He never really talked to him about it aside from the occasional annoyed comment or statement during a task. Heero had never complained about it. Duo knew the former Wing pilot was used to taking orders. He had seen the guy follow them blindly when they had first met. It just wasn't something Duo could handle. He liked his job now. He was usually left alone to do things how he wanted to. As long as his assignments got completed nobody seemed to care what he did. He was fast, efficient and thorough with his repairs and orders.

But it was so fucking boring.

He appreciated Wufei sticking his neck out for him to get him this job. It paid fine. He liked his colleagues, but how many more lost e-mail password tickets was he going to have to answer before he started to go crazy? He needed excitement. He needed to have a job where he had to think on his feet. He needed to feel challenged.

He groaned and stretched his arms over his head. Maybe he would wait until after his vacation. Maybe he was just burned out? He would wait and see how he felt when he got back. If he was still unhappy with it he would start looking for something else.

He wondered if the Maganac Corps were hiring.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

Duo watched as the elderly couple in line in front of them at the airport security stationed struggled to get their shoes off. He stole a glance at the mass confusion that was the Dallas / Fort Worth Airport. It had taken them nearly an hour to check in and get to the security gate. Duo had traveled commercial airlines plenty of times, so he knew to wear slip on shoes and not to bother with a belt or anything complicated to manage while trying to fly. He pulled his baggy sweatpants up over his hips and toed his canvas sneakers off before tossing them in a security bin. He tugged at the crooked neck of his sweater to adjust it and then reached into his pocket to grab his phone and add it to another bin with his duffle bag.

"I can't believe you wore that thing," Hilde teased from behind him. "We are going to San Diego. It's May. You're overdressed."

Duo smirked, knowing that the strange looks he was getting from the other passengers was driving her nuts. "I told you it is my favorite sweater. Don't you want me to be comfortable?"

"I hate you," Hilde said. She gave his braid a sharp, playful tug. Only two people in this world were ever allowed to touch his hair. Hilde was one of them. The other Duo hadn't spoken to in months.

He looked down at his passport as he waited for the elderly couple to be processed through the body scanners. He remembered when his passport photo was taken. The government had issued them new passports when they got their stipends, and then updated them when they joined the Preventers. The new ones had been a specialized version of a regular passport. He used to be able to skip the security lines with it. The photo and version he had now was the same as anyone else. He had to turn in his government privilege one before he left.

When he turned the old passport in was the last time he had officially seen Heero. Heero had been sitting in an administrative office alone, waiting for one of the investigators to file his statement, Duo had assumed. He had bandages on his neck and as far as Duo knew he still couldn't talk. Heero hadn't seen him. Duo was still so angry with him that he hadn't stopped to talk to him.

 _I wonder if he had any lasting damage to his larynx_ , Duo considered for a moment as he watched the old man stumbling out of the scanner to get his things. _Not that he was much of a conversationalist anyway._

His ponderings were interrupted by the security agent commanding him to enter the scanner. He obediently followed orders and was soon on the other side with the elderly folks trying to gather his things. Hilde soon joined him. Once situated they set off down the hallway to their gate, walking side by side. She reached over to casually hook an arm with him, using his guidance to her advantage as she checked their itinerary on her phone.

"Looks like we will be right on time. Just a short hop and then we will be there and vacation time can finally begin!" She said excitedly. Duo grinned. It was nice to see her so carefree. The shuttle down to the airport from space had been uneventful and both of them had managed to catch some sleep. Now he was feeling energized and ready to see the sights. He had never been to California before.

Of course he had seen it on TV and movies and had heard stories about the landmarks there. The closest he had ever gotten to it was the Pacific Ocean. Howard was originally from California; a town called Pasadena. He spoke of it often. Duo was determined to get the old Sweeper something from his hometown before they left to meet him in the Pacific Ocean later that week. Hilde had some business she needed to work out with him and Duo was just coming along for the ride. It would be nice to see Howard and his crew again. It had been a few years, and Duo felt guilty for letting so much time pass without even stopping in to see him, especially after everything the old guy had done for him during Operation Meteor and the war.

They loaded onto the plane with no difficulty. Duo watched as the other passengers boarded and passed them to reach get to their own seats. People were smiling at them. He assumed that they thought Hilde was his girlfriend. He looked at her. She was leaning her head against his shoulder watching her newest obsession: KPOP music videos. Duo peeked down to see a group of coiffed, pretty boys dancing in perfect unison on a high-tech sound stage. She glanced up to catch him watching and grinned.

"I always felt like you and the other pilots would have made a good boy band," she teased. Duo feigned shock.

"What? Excuse me?" He said in an overly dramatic voice. He had heard this joke before but he was going to let her elaborate. "How do you figure?"

"Well," she paused the video and reversed it. "They always have the same kind of guys in them. A pretty, innocent boy. Clearly Quatre. A more traditional guy, who is usually dressed in a suit and has a serious expression all the time… I think that would be Wufei." She paused on a guy that was in mid-dance. The guy looked like a lot like Wufei but with a longer ponytail. "This guy is either in a suit or shirtless. There is no in-between."

Duo nodded. "Yeah, sounds about right for Chang."

Hilde laughed and scanned the video before pausing it on an attractive, tall and muscular guy who was clearly the best at dancing. "Tall, handsome and always ambiguously gay with the cute and innocent one."

Duo scoffed. "Ambiguous?" There was nothing unofficial about Quatre and Trowa's relationship.

Hilde grinned. "Yeah, I know. THESE guys are ambiguous, though." She showed him a guy with shoulder length hair. He was dressed edgy in spikes and leather. "The badass. Clearly you."

"Well I am okay with that depiction," Duo said with a wink. Hilde elbowed him and scanned through the video. She stopped on a serious and beautifully touched up face.

"And finally, the handsome and mysterious one who everyone likes, but who doesn't ever seem to like anyone else. The guy who you can just tell is sensitive under his cool exterior. Heero all the way." She closed the video and slumped back against her seat. Duo blinked. Was she blushing? "They're all just so gorgeous…" Hilde said with a mock dreamy expression.

"Nobody likes Heero," Duo said with a huff. "So 4 out of 5."

Hilde smirked and shrugged her shoulders. "I like Heero," she said.

"Well you are the only one," Duo mumbled. He saw Hilde roll her eyes.

"You still haven't talked to him?" She asked. Duo shook his head. She sighed and reached over to flick his ear with her fingers. Duo jumped and rubbed the stinging spot on his earlobe with a scowl.

"What was that for?" He grumbled. She was narrowing her eyes at him.

"You know perfectly well what that was for. Stop being so damn stubborn, Duo Maxwell. You know he had to do what he thought was right. I can't believe you are letting that shit get to you like this. You didn't even like that job." Hilde said in a quiet, forceful voice. Duo shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You don't understand," he mumbled. He pulled his phone out and started thumbing through applications and tried to avoid looking at her. He could feel her gaze on him.

"I don't understand?" She started with a frown, "I am pretty sure I know you better than you know yourself. You know what I think? I think you know you are wrong, and you won't swallow your pride and admit it. So what if he testified that you shot the guy. YOU DID. You know Heero; the guy can quote regulations in his sleep. It wasn't like he was ungrateful for your saving him." Hilde reached over to grab Duo's elbow. "I am not going to ruin our vacation fighting with you about this, but seriously, Duo. Drop it. He was your friend. Are you going to let this petty bullshit keep you apart?" Before Duo could respond, she grabbed his shoulders and hugged them tightly. "Stop being a stubborn asshole and call him," she said with a smile. She began squeezing his shoulders so tightly he felt his upper vertebra cracking. She definitely was dishing out her own brand of tough love. She was killing him with kindness. Literally.

"Ow, Hilde!"

"Say you'll call him," she said with a wicked grin. She began to squeeze him harder.

Duo heard a lady across the aisle say, "oh, look at that adorable couple over there." If only they knew how manipulative and wicked Hilde Schbeiker could be.

"Ugh, fine." He conceded. Hilde smiled at his defeat and kissed him on the cheek.

"Good. You won't regret it."

Duo wasn't so sure about that.

After a four hour flight they landed in sunny San Diego. Duo was in love. The weather was perfect. Warm but with a cool, gentle breeze. They checked into a hotel on Catalina Island, the iconic hotspot for resort-style vacations in San Diego. The hotel was set right on the beach and the room they shared had a balcony that opened wide to show off quiet beaches and manicured palm-encrusted walkways. Hilde had wasted no time changing into her bikini. She was tearing her clothes off before Duo could even get his suitcase through the door.

"You coming down?" Hilde asked as she hurriedly slid into her flip-flops.

"Yeah, I will meet you down there." Hilde left. Duo sighed and took off his shoes. He pulled off his hideous sweater and the tank top he had been wearing underneath and walked out onto the balcony to get a better look at the ocean. It had been such a long time since he had seen it. It was late afternoon. The beach was littered with vacationers lounging on fancy beach chairs beneath blue and white striped umbrellas. In the distance he could see a pontoon boat with guests bobbing on the waves. Everyone was hanging over the railings, looking down into the water. A moment later the explosive exhale of a whale shot up from the water below them. Just below their room was a bottom lit pool. A family was playing in the shallow end. He could hear a little girl giggling wildly over the distant crash and roar of the waves on the beach. He saw a familiar figure jogging out toward the water. It was Hilde. He could spot her easily from this distance thanks to her bright yellow bikini. She was rushing across the white sand toward the water. He saw her stumble, kick off her sandals and then break out into a full-on sprint toward the receding waves. He smiled as she vanished underneath the water. A moment later she surfaced and began to float on the surface on her back, riding the surf back to the shore.

He leaned out over the balcony's railing and took in a deep breath of cool, salty air before taking a seat on a padded patio chair. He fished out his phone from his pocket and opened his contact list. Heero's number had been added to his favorites a long time ago and so it was at the top of his contacts menu. Duo had thought about deleting him from his phone many times but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

He checked the time. It was 4:30 PST. He frowned. If Heero were in space with Quatre he would be on Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC. After a quick calculation he concluded that if he called Heero now it would be 12:30am UTC local time. He stared at his phone for a long while, trying to decide whether he should attempt to or not. He knew that if he didn't do it now, he would never work up the guts to try again tomorrow. So before he could consider the point further, he tapped Heero's name and watched as the phone dialed him. Because of the complicated wireless to space satellite communication system all calls from the planet to space took a lot longer to connect. The wait time was accompanied by a clicking noise, followed by an airy second or two before it would start to ring. Duo heard the clicking and the air, but never heard a ring. His nerves were shot. He started to hang up when he heard a voice speak from the other end of the line.

"Hello?"

Duo pressed the phone hard against his ear. "Hello?"

"Hello? Who is this?" The voice was not what Duo had expected. It was a low, grumbling voice. It wasn't Heero.

"This is Duo," he said quickly. "Who is this?"

"Oh, hello Duo. This is Rashid."

Duo sighed. All of the tension that had been building in him released all at once, leaving him feeling limp and exhausted. He propped his trembling legs against the balcony railing and sighed. "Oh, Rashid. Hey man, how are you?"

He heard Rashid say something he couldn't decipher to someone else on the other side of the line before returning to their conversation. "Ah, Duo. I am fine, thank you. Are you calling for Mister Yuy? He is currently on a space walk and had left his phone and personal belongings here with me. Would you care to call him back at another time, or perhaps I can have him call you when he is finished?"

Duo panicked. "Naw, don't bother. Forget about it. Thanks anyway Rashid," he blurted before abruptly hanging up. He was irritated. That hadn't gone how he hoped it would. Why the hell was Heero on a space walk at 12:30 am? Why the hell was Rashid answering his phone?

He shouldn't have called. He should have just forgotten all about it. It was stupid, anyway.

 _I don't need to talk to Heero. What would I have said? I miss you? I wish we didn't have that fight? I wish I were there with you wearing stuffy and smelly space suits on a stifling space walk instead of here at a beautiful resort with a gorgeous woman on a beach drinking daiquiris and getting deep tissue massages?_

He groaned and dropped his phone on the ground and draped an arm across his eyes to block out the cheerful, warm California sunshine. He groaned even louder and kicked the balcony railing with his bare foot, annoyed with himself.

"What's wrong with me?"


	6. Chapter 6

Part One

 _Rest and relaxation._ Duo groaned as his masseuse delved the flat of her palm into his tight trap muscles. The older woman laughed at his response.

"You've never had a massage?" She asked with a chuckle. "I guess I should have known, your back is as hard as a rock." She applied gentle pressure to a spot on Duo's back he had never considered important before, but clearly it was a valve for tension and this woman had the magic touch to release it. He sighed and went limp against the massage table.

 _Where has this been all my life?_ Duo thought happily as he felt all of his stresses drop off of him as if he were molting. Bit by bit he was feeling lighter, and gradually more relaxed and carefree.

It had been five days since they had first arrived on Catalina Island. Up until now the trip had been great. They had spent every day exploring the island, and every night drinking themselves into drunken stupors. There was so much to do, and Duo had tried everything; zip lining, falconry, kayaking, snorkeling and dolphin watching. He was really enjoying himself.

He felt like his arms and legs were turning into wet noodles. Hilde had been down here getting massages every day and it wasn't until this evening that Duo finally decided to give it a try. He felt a little strange getting naked in front of someone and letting them rub him down but the woman who was manipulating him now was extremely kind and professional and made him feel very comfortable. She hadn't said anything about his scars from the war at all. He assumed she had seen things like that before anyway. So many people had been injured in the past. Walking around with scars wasn't unusual.

He sighed and tried to put the thought out of his head. He didn't want to think about any of that right now. He tried to focus on the beach. The sand. The ocean. The baby dolphins-

"Miss, you really shouldn't be in here…"

Duo felt the masseuse pause in her ministrations. He looked up and saw that Hilde had entered the massage tent. She was standing by the tent opening, her face pale. He saw her phone hanging in her hand.

"Hilde?" He pushed himself up from the table and wrapped the sheet around his waist. "Hilde, what's wrong?" Duo quickly rushed up to her and gently grabbed her shoulders. "Are you okay? What happened?"

She held her phone up to him, its screen open to a news report. He took it and scanned the headline.

"62 Dead, 201 Wounded in USCC Bomb Attack"

Duo froze. His breath caught in his throat. He read it again and looked up at Hilde. She nodded and frowned. "I booked a flight back. It leaves in forty-five minutes."

Part Two

What little rest and relaxation Duo had gotten with Hilde on Catalina Island had been chucked out the window the moment he saw the headline. He couldn't wait to get back to X-18999 and make sure everyone was okay. The entire flight back he kept obsessively checking his phone for messages and continued to attempt to call the members of his IT team. Nobody was answering and it was driving him crazy. Hilde had tried her best to talk him down and distract him on the plane, but he just couldn't relax. Not at a time like this.

The minute they docked to X-18999 they were greeted by colony security forces and CPD officers who wouldn't let them leave the spaceport.

"Ya gotta be kidding me!" Duo yelled into the face of a CPD officer. "My friends are in there. I am a former Preventer. Quatre Winner knows me, just call him and ask him. Let me pass. I gotta know where-"

"I am sorry, sir. The colony is on lock down at this time. We are not able to permit outside travelers until the ban is lifted. Please step back."

"You aren't even listening to me!" Duo was becoming frantic. "Call the campus. Call Winner Corp. Call someone!" He was waving his USCC employee badge in the air centimeters away from the officer's nose.

"Sir, if you don't step away from the entrance we will be forced to-"

"Do what? What are you going to do to me, huh?"

"Duo," he could hear Hilde pleading with him. He felt her grab the back of his shirt in attempt to pull him away from the blockade. He resisted her intervention. He was tired. He was angry. Nobody was answering their phone. He was feeling completely helpless and these officers were not willing to just hear him out. They were treating him like he was some sort of common colonist. They didn't know who he was, and he was about to tell them so.

"Listen you piece of shit rent-a-cop," Duo hissed. The officer reached down to grab his handgun. Three other officers stepped in to assist. Duo was standing toe to toe with them, his hands fisted and shoulders shaking. "I need to get through, and if you aren't going to let me through, I am just gonna have to make you see reason the hard way!" He recoiled his arm and then sprang forward, prepared to plant a punch on the nearest officer when his arm was stopped and his fist was grabbed in mid-air from behind. He nearly fell on his face from the sudden stop of forward momentum but he felt an arm wrap around his waist and steady him.

"Duo, calm down."

The voice was calm but commanding, the words uttered quietly in his ear. Duo's entire body stiffened at the sound of it. He was wound like a spring, ready to break loose, but was held back by a force from behind. He bit his tongue and jabbed an elbow behind himself, landing it in the abdomen of the figure who had grappled him from behind him, releasing his negative energy backward rather than forward on the CPD officers. The arm around his waist tightened, crushing his hips and the hand on his raised fist slid quickly down to his wrist. Before Duo could counter anything his wrist was yanked back and twisted behind his back in a rear wrist lock. Duo couldn't do anything but lean forward as his arm was lifted up against his back. His shoulder and wrist erupted with pain and he was suddenly very off balance again.

"I'll take care of this," the voice behind him said to the officers, who all began to relax at the sight of him contained. Duo froze.

"Heero. You motherfucker, let me go," Duo growled. He yanked at his arm and tried to resist the hold but immediately regretted the movement. Heero had always been great with manipulations and control maneuvers. He was demonstrating this particular variety of hold perfectly against Duo.

"Quit resisting," he heard Heero say from behind him before he started shoving him away from the blockade. Duo could do nothing but comply. As he was spun around to be marched away from the blockade he could see Hilde standing back beside a group of shocked onlookers, her face puzzled and concerned. Duo didn't get a chance to say anything to her. He staggered and tripped as Heero forced him away from the now accumulating crowd of onlookers and police officials to a side door. It was an emergency stairway beside the elevators that led up to the platform where the shuttle was initially unloaded. The stairwell was deserted. Heero dumped Duo unceremoniously onto the landing and let the weighted door slam close behind them. Duo spun around on his heels and planted his hands hard against Heero's chest and shoved him backwards away from himself. He watched as the former Wing pilot landed hard against the opposite wall. Duo realized that Heero was wearing his Preventer uniform. The sight of it kindled even more rage within him. He lunged at Heero and tried to land a punch on his nose. Heero ducked and countered with a punch of his own, knocking Duo hard with an uppercut to the chin. Duo felt his teeth crush together as the force of the blow knocked his head back. He fell backwards and landed hard on his ass.

"Fuck," he managed to grumble. He felt blood pooling into his mouth from a cut he had bitten into his lip. He spat it out on the ground in front of him and felt his anger begin to dissipate. He was too disoriented to do any more. He looked up from his spot on the floor to see Heero standing over him, looking down on him with what Duo had expected to be anger, annoyance, or irritation. Instead Heero's eyes were wide and his face expressed concern. Duo snarled.

"Stop looking at me like that. Just… just go away. I don't want to talk to you." He hung his head and stared down at the splatter of bright red blood on the concrete. He felt like a shithead. He knew he had been wrong, but he had spiraled out of control. He had spent hours anxiously trying to contact somebody-anybody- from the campus. People could be dead. He should be there to help. He had installed the security program himself; he knew how it worked and how to use it. He could find the fucker who did this, but the security officials wouldn't even let him past a simple blockade.

He looked down at his hands. They were still balled into tight fists. He felt his shoulders trembling. "Just… leave me alone."

Then there was silence. In the distance Duo could hear people talking, their muffled voices full of panic and confusion. He started to feel guilty. He hadn't even considered that everyone in the spaceport was probably worried about loved ones or family on the colony. They were all in the same boat he was in. He just acted like an animal about it.

He felt ashamed. His face was starting to grow hot with this newly realized feeling. His eyes began to burn. He grit his sore teeth and closed his eyes in an attempt to ward off any tears that were threatening to make themselves known. Emotions he had managed to solidly repress for the past few months had begun to rear their ugly heads. Anger. Fear. Sadness. Regret. Betrayal. Depression. Frustration. Loneliness. Each one sprang up from the dark place he had compartmentalized them. Each one in turn began to stab him in the chest. His throat tightened. He couldn't breathe. His ears were ringing and he could barely focus on the image of Heero's perfectly polished boots anymore. His vision began to cloud and everything he saw transformed into a drab, depressing watercolor world. He felt like he was losing control. He didn't know what else to do. In the past when he was just a kid and this sort of thing would happen he would find a place to hide and ride it out. He would hide for days in the darkness, willing away the tears, refusing to set them free.

Now there was nowhere to run and the one person who held his heart in his hands was standing right in front of him.

Duo opened his mouth in an attempt to tell Heero off again but was cut short by the Japanese Preventer dropping down onto his knees in front of him. He stared at the blurry visage of Heero's face and blinked. In doing so the tears he had been harboring were liberated from his eyes and began to plot a watery trail down his burning cheeks. The blink had dropped the veil of discord from him and he could now see Heero's face with perfect clarity. The former Wing pilot's deep blue eyes were staring straight into his own, and Duo began to feel very weak and vulnerable. He wanted to look away, but he was also thrilled to see Heero's face again.

Duo felt something brush against his cheek. Heero's hands had lifted to cup his face and his thumbs were moving across the top of his cheekbones to wipe his tears away.

"Don't cry," Heero whispered to him, holding his face gently in his hands. Duo's body betrayed him, and instead of holding back his tears Heero's words had only summoned more. A steady flow began to trickle down his face. Embarrassed, he tried to pull away but Heero gently turned his face back up to look at him. "Duo. Why are you crying?"

Duo felt his mask beginning to crack. The tears were washing his tough façade away and revealing the broken person that lie beneath.

"You hit me in the fucking face that's why," Duo lied. He felt a sob choke from his throat. He saw the corners of Heero's handsome mouth twitch.

"You hit me first," Heero said. Duo couldn't help but laugh. His laugh was riddled with pathetic sobs. "Besides, the Duo I knew used to be able to take a punch."

Duo sobbed and laughed again. He felt Heero's fingers systematically clearing every tear that rolled across his face.

"Shut up-" Duo managed to grumble, sniveling. He heard Heero sigh and for a moment they were both completely silent with only Duo's hiccuping sobs for accompaniment. Finally Duo had managed to settle down. He took a deep breath and felt a sense of calm finally take the place of the turbulent thoughts he had allowed to escape him. He looked up at Heero who was still dutifully holding his face and frowned. "You can let go now."

Heero nodded and appeared as if he was going to release him but then his hands firmed their mold against his jawline. He hesitated before saying quietly, "may I kiss you?"

Duo felt a warmth creep along his cheeks again. He knew he had to be blushing.

Memories began to surface. Memories from a time before the Preventers; before the war. Memories from when they had been newly acquainted. When they needed each other in mission and emotion. Back then they had initiated in a casual, mutual understanding. They found comfort in one another more times than Duo could count. But then time passed, and things had drastically changed. Duo had met Hilde and Heero was involved with Relena, and so they had kept their friendship but had put the sexual and deeper emotional relationship to rest. Duo always knew he would love Heero differently than he loved the other pilots. He knew that the reason he felt so much betrayal from Heero about the situation with the Angora Mission was because Heero meant so much more to him than just a coworker or a battle buddy. He had almost lost him to the mission, and he had nobody to confide those feelings to. Nobody else knew about what they used to have, or what they used to do. Duo had never told anyone, not even Hilde.

Heero was waiting, watching him with those intense blue eyes. Duo answered his question by kissing him. He felt Heero buckle under the kiss for a minute before steadying himself against the pressure of Duo's gesture. Duo grabbed Heero's shoulders and pulled him closer until they were both sitting on the cool cement floor. Duo let his hands go wherever they wanted. They traveled across his favorite places: up Heero's shoulders, across the back of his neck and then through his messy brown hair. He dug his fingers into it. He felt the Japanese agent's mouth form a gasp against his own. Heero had snaked his arms around Duo's body and had pulled him so close their chests were pressed together. It had been ages since they had done this, but it in the moment Duo felt like nothing had ever changed. He could go on like this forever, except that there were serious and pressing matters hanging over them. He knew Heero sensed his thoughts. The other young man reluctantly broke their exchange but stayed close to him.

"I can get you to the campus," Heero said quietly, though his voice practically echoed through the cavernous stairwell. Duo nodded. He stared at Heero's face, at the smudge of his own blood on the Japanese man's lower lip. He reached up to carefully wipe the evidence from Heero's mouth.

"Okay. Yeah." Duo tried to focus on the task at hand. They had something to do first. It was just like it had been before. A quick exchange and then another assignment. Breaking for mission was nothing new for them. "Let's go."

*** Note: Thank you CKUSHRENADA for your feedback in the comments. I hope my additions made it a little more coherent. :) ***


	7. Chapter 7

When Duo and Heero exited the stairwell and returned to the blockade an anxious Hilde greeted them.

"Is everything okay?" She asked. Duo could feel her worried eyes probing his face. He couldn't bring himself to look at her. He had never felt ashamed of doing anything with Heero before so he wasn't sure why he was so worried about it now. It wasn't like Hilde was his girlfriend. A thought started nagging at him from the back of his mind. What about Relena? Heero was still seeing the diplomat as far as Duo knew. He started to feel very guilty for falling victim to his urges. He may have had a casual view on sex, but he never wanted to come between other people in a relationship. He watched Heero walk past Hilde and approach the security at the blockade. He had pulled his badge out and was speaking casually to the same cluster that Duo had agitated with his outbreak earlier. "Duo?"

He looked at her and snapped on his usual, carefree smiling mask. "Oh, yeah. Sorry. No, everything is okay. Heero and I had it out but everything is cool now." Hilde looked surprised. He knew she probably wouldn't believe him.

"Really?" She said with a sigh. He felt her hand grab his shoulder. "What happened to your lip? You want to go get some ice?"

Duo blinked. He had forgotten about the cut on his lower lip. His tongue absently probed the sore metallic spot before he shook his head slowly. "Oh, this? Heero happened to it." _Well, that was a form of the truth_.

He hustled over to grab his bag from where Hilde had obviously camped out while she had waited for him and slung it over his shoulder. He checked his phone for any new messages. He had expected nothing new but was shocked at the blinking prompt on the screen. It was a message from Wufei. He quickly opened it and anxiously read the words.

 **Colony College attacked. I am okay. No word from Quatre. Where are you?**

He quickly replied, " _On colony at spaceport. Headed to the college."_

Within moments he got a response.

 **Meet you at the bookstore.**

Duo quickly pounded back an "OK" and then went to stand behind Heero, who was still discussing something with an older officer at the blockade. The man eyed Duo as he approached but didn't acknowledge him. Duo saw Hilde gathering her things. He felt very strange in her presence. He didn't know why, it wasn't like he had anything serious to hide from her. He knew that even if she found out that he had kissed Heero she would probably be happy for him, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that it was wrong and that he had made a mistake. His temples were pounding and a dull ache from the punch and lack of sleep began to emanate from behind his eyes. He blinked it away and turned to look at Hilde with a frown. He knew she wasn't going to like what he had to say.

"Hey, listen. Um. You should probably stay here."

Just as he had expected, "WHAT?" She practically dug her heels into the ground and straightened her back as if challenging him to move her. "No way, I am going with you. I can help. I am just as good at system security as you are-"

"I know. It isn't that. I just don't think you should be there in case there is another attack. I don't want to see you get hurt." He reached out to try and grab her hand to show that he sincerely was worried but she snatched her hand away before he could touch her.

"No. Whatever, Duo. Go ahead, just dump me off here and go play secret agent. I get it. You think I will get in the way…" She was furious. Duo saw her lips purse into a taut, thin line. Her shoulders were rising to her ears in a way he had seen her do when angry many times. He wondered if she was going to slap him.

"Fine, you can come." He said, defeated. He was too tired to fight her. To his surprise she spun around and started walking off in the opposite direction.

"Screw you, Duo Maxwell!" She yelled into the air as she stormed off, drawing looks of surprise from strangers as she did. A few people seated nearby began to whisper and watch him. He frowned and immediately began to feel like a totally tool. He hadn't meant to dump Hilde off like that but she really was going to get in the way. He had a hard time seeing Heero hurt; God Forbid Heero and Hilde get it at the same time.

She's safer here, he tried to justify to himself as he returned to Heero who had finished making his arrangements with the CPD officers. The officers who he had insulted only half an hour earlier stepped aside and watched him with wary expressions as Heero led him through the blockade and out onto the pavement toward the college campus.

"Where did Hilde go?" Heero had asked once they were clear from the spaceport. Duo grit his teeth and didn't answer. He didn't feel the need to explain it to Heero. Heero didn't seem bothered by his silence. Instead he just shrugged and reached into his pocket to grab his phone and check his messages as they walked.

 _Phone. Oh shit, Wufei._

"Wait a minute. Wufei asked me to meet him somewhere."

Heero stopped a few paces ahead of him. Duo wasn't paying attention to where he was going, having pulled his own phone out to check it, and slammed straight into Heero's back. Heero didn't move. Duo blinked.

"Hey, did you hear me? I said Wufei wants to meet us at the-" He looked past Heero's broad shoulders and finally spotted what had stopped the Japanese Preventer in his tracks.

The college. What had once been the pristine, modern administration building at the front of the campus by the main gates was now nothing more than a husk of what it used to be. If Duo hadn't known what the building had looked like before the blast he would have never been able to recreate its structure from the haphazard piles of charred rubble lying below the skeleton that remained. Smoke was still billowing from somewhere within the campus itself. As far as Duo could tell it was coming from the direction of the Science and Technology lab. Duo felt a chill coursing down his spine. It tingled across his chest and shot down his arms and legs, making him both uncomfortable and numb at the same time. He could see beyond the decimated administration building that one of the student dorms had been blasted out, a quarter of the building was nothing more than a giant gaping hole. It didn't look like a single bomb had gone off at all. It looked like a battle had taken place. Whatever happened here was bigger than he had initially suspected. It wasn't just a loner trying to get retribution or make a statement. Whoever did this had a level of expertise and coordination that surpassed anything Duo had seen in a long time. He was shocked. Heero turned around to face him.

"Where is Wufei?" Heero asked. Duo was staring over his shoulder at the campus. His mind was still trying to process what he was seeing. His mind was racing with the implications of this attack, and what it would mean for the peace treaties between the colonies and Earth if they were to be claimed by a serious organization. He began to feel his throat tighten. What about his team? Their office was in the admin building. It had been completely destroyed. All of their servers were located in the basement level of that building. What about his team? What about Esme? She had a six-year-old daughter at home. He began to feel dizzy as all of his thoughts began to run a marathon around his head. "Duo." He was snapped out of his downward spiral by Heero speaking his name. He tore his eyes away from the devastation and locked eyes with the Preventer, who was standing a foot away from him studying his face.

"Maybe you should go back to the spaceport and rest," Heero suggested, his eyebrows knit together with worry. Duo shook his head and scoffed.

"No, shit. No, I am fine. Sorry. Come on. Wufei is at a bookstore we always meet at." He began to rush in the direction of the street with the cafes. The roads were deserted. Duo had never seen the area around campus so quiet. It made sense with the lock down that nobody would be out and about but it made the formerly vibrant and colorful world feel grey and lifeless. He walked as fast as he could down the street with Heero in tow until he finally found the bookstore. It was closed but Wufei was still there, standing right in front of it waiting for them. He was holding a thermos in one hand and a small laptop in the other. Duo quickened his pace to a jog to close the gap and greet him.

"Hey, Chang." He said briskly before getting right to it. "What happened?"

"I think you better come with me," Wufei said in a dark voice. He nodded in greeting to Heero who greeted him back in a similar fashion.

"Okay," Duo said warily. He noticed Wufei appeared very alert. He was scanning the empty rooftops and letting his eyes dart back and forth up and down the street. Duo frowned.

 _What has gotten into him,_ he thought as he fell into step behind him. Wufei began leading them down an empty road. As they walked he thrust the thermos into Duo's hands. The smell of coffee wafted up from the lid. Duo wasted no time popping the top off. He chugged it down as fast as he could. He could feel it rush into his stomach and warm the pit of cold he had swallowed when he saw the campus destroyed. It made him feel a little better. Heero was walking behind them. Duo noticed he was scanning the quiet streets too, having obviously taken note of Wufei's demeanor as well. They moved in silence for a few blocks until Duo finally realized where they were headed. His apartment. He had forgotten that while he was out of town Wufei had stayed at his place to watch his cat, Milo.

They entered the building and climbed the single flight of stairs to the landing where his door was. Wufei opened the door and as soon as they stepped inside Milo was tangling himself between Duo's legs and meowing incessantly.

"Hey, buddy!" Duo said happily. For a moment he was relieved to be thinking about something other than death and destruction. He let himself enjoy picking up and stroking his fluffy friend for a moment while Wufei was setting his laptop on the breakfast table in his tiny kitchen. Heero had stepped inside and looked around casually before making his way across the room to join Wufei. Duo sighed and sat down on his couch. He saw a pile of mail Wufei had been dutifully stacking on his coffee table. The Chinese former pilot had been organizing his letters for him. There was a separate stack for junk, bills and personal mail. Duo noticed a couple of brightly colored envelopes in what he assumed was the personal mail pile. They looked like birthday cards. He grabbed the top one, a massive pink envelope. He turned it over to read the sender's address. It was from Relena in Cinq.

He sighed and set it back on the pile. Milo had been rubbing his head against his elbow but, now content that his greeting of Duo was sufficient, had turned his attentions to the newcomer. He had walked over to the kitchen and was sitting on the floor beside Heero's chair staring at him. Heero hadn't seemed to notice.

"Let me pull up all that I have as far as a current timeline for you," Wufei said absently as he typed away at his keyboard. Heero nodded and rested his arms across his chest as he waited. Milo meowed. Heero ignored him. Duo looked down at his now empty thermos and frowned. The coffee had given him a small pick me up, but he was still feeling sluggish. It had been a long day, and from the looks of it, it was going to be even longer. He got up to make another pot of coffee. As he drifted through his small kitchen he noticed everything was spotless. Wufei had cleaned every crack and crevice of the place. He opened his cabinet to grab a few mugs and saw that everything had been neatly organized and stacked. His plates were arranged by size, and his bowls were places neatly on top of them. His glasses were separate from his mugs, and his plastic containers were arranged with their matching lids.

"You didn't have to do all of this," Duo said as he began to spoon out coffee grounds into a filter. Wufei looked up from his computer and frowned.

"You asked me to live here while you were gone. I had to make it livable. Unlike you, I can't live in chaos." Wufei said sharply before turning the laptop around and pushing it towards Heero. "Here is the timeline. At 1522 the previous day a bomb threat had been called in to the dean's office. The school was evacuated and classes were cancelled for the rest of the day. The typical procedures were followed and nothing was found. Quatre's new trace system yielded two hours worth of recordings on local cameras in a quarter mile radius of the location the call was made from." Duo watched as Heero pull the laptop closer and begin mulling over the information Wufei had presented. Duo turned on the coffee machine before stepping behind Heero to look over his shoulder.

The GPS coordinates for the call had led to 53 Azalea Way in 12 District. Duo blinked. That was a high-end neighborhood where business executives and colony council members lived.

"The facial recognition program had scanned all of the videos and positively identified 423 individuals. It then ran their information through various databases in attempt to find people with a positive motive. It yielded 32 results. These people had varied hits from political protesting, failing out of the school's programs, loss of scholarship and so on. Only four of them had any references to possible gang related or former mercenary work. CPD apprehended them for questioning. All but one had credible alibis. The last one was in custody during the bombings."

Duo tensed. Wufei has said bombings, plural. He leaned on the back of the chair Heero was seated in and frowned.

"How many explosions were there?" Duo asked hesitantly. Wufei gestured to the laptop. Heero reached down to scan through the file Wufei had presented.

"Three separate blasts," Wufei said solemnly. "The administration building, the technology lab and the Greek Hall dormitory."

"Do you have a list of the casualties?" Duo asked anxiously. Wufei shook his head.

"No information about the victims has been released. Not even to me." Duo tightened his grip on the back of the chair.

"Do you know if Esme and the guys on my team were in there at the time?" Duo asked nervously. Wufei had crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head slowly.

"I haven't heard from any of them," Wufei stated. "The first blast happened at 1213 in the dorm, shortly followed by the admin building and then the tech. They may have been out for lunch," Wufei added. Duo knew he was trying to give him hope, but so far the entire situation was extremely overwhelming. He went to pour himself a cup of coffee, as well as two more for his companions, and returned to take a seat at the table. He slid the cups in front of them. Wufei picked his up and held it in his hands but didn't sip it. Heero was lost in his thoughts studying the data on the laptop.

"So why have the whole colony on lock down?" Duo asked Wufei as he cradled his own mug in his hands. Wufei shook his head and leaned his elbows against the table.

"I have no idea. I haven't been able to really coordinate with anyone. Quatre had just left for the L1 Summit two days ago, and other than a few short conversations to assure him that we ran the system, he hasn't divulged much to me. I don't even know if he is here yet." Wufei seemed bothered by this. He finally took a long sip of his black coffee, his eyes wandering across the table as if he were attempting to work it out for himself once more. Duo leaned into the back of his chair.

"That's not like him," he said slowly as he absently fingered the raised happy panda face that had been glazed onto the surface of his own mug.

Heero suddenly looked up from his intense study at Wufei. "Can I keep this for tonight?"

Wufei nodded. "Of course. Actually, I need to get back to my own place before the curfew starts."

"Wait a minute," Duo said quickly as Wufei stood up and began to gather his belongings from around the apartment. "There is a curfew, too?"

Wufei nodded as he set his phone and suitcase he had retrieved from Duo's bedroom beside the door. "Yes. Like I said, everything about this situation is unusual. We won't be able to survey the site until Quatre turns up. I don't have the authority since I am no longer an agent. I suppose you can, Heero."

Heero frowned. He began to type something on the keyboard. "They don't know I am here."

Duo blinked. "What do you mean? Who doesn't?" He expected him to say the Preventers. He had thought it was odd that Heero was wearing his uniform in the first place. The last he had heard Heero was on leave from duty until his investigation was over. Hadn't Quatre said something to that effect? Heero had stopped typing but was staring down at his hands. Finally he turned to face them.

"The Winner Corporation. They don't know I am here," he said plainly before looking directly at Duo. "I am here to investigate Quatre."

Duo couldn't believe it. He stared at his feet as the water coursed down his legs and ankles, gathered under his toes and then vanished down the drain. After Wufei had left he had decided to take a shower. All the grime from plane and space travel had left him feeling grungy and disgusting, and his fistfight and tears at the spaceport had made his face sticky and uncomfortable. He had stumbled into the shower as soon as Chang had closed the door behind him despite Heero's suggestion that he try to eat something. His stomach was in knots from having no answers. He couldn't eat; he knew it would just make him feel sick. He sighed a heavy, deep breath as the hot water from the showerhead pelted his back, messaging his tense and aching shoulders. It wasn't as nice as the tissue message he had gotten in California, but it was the best he could get at the moment.

He suddenly felt very guilty. Hilde. He knew he should call her and see if Heero could arrange to have her brought to his apartment. He couldn't just let her sleep in the spaceport, and as far as Duo knew the blockade was still up and there was no sign they were going to drop it.

He groaned and reluctantly stumbled out of the shower. It took everything in him to will his body out of the soothing hot water but somehow he had managed to spill himself out onto the cold tile floor and wrap a towel around his waist. His unbraided hair was hanging stringy and dripping around his shoulders, gathering in knots around his biceps and waist. He fumbled for his phone and dialed Hilde. It rang three times and went to voicemail. He frowned and redialed. This time it went straight to her voicemail. Frustrated he sat on the edge of the bathtub and feverishly texted her, hoping at the very least she would accidently read it.

" _Come stay at my place. Heero can come get you,"_ he typed before tapping the send key. He put his phone down on the counter, not expecting to get an immediate reply. He began finger combing his hair carefully. Normally the task was relaxing but today it just felt tedious and exhausting. He lazily dried it and wearily shoved it into a ponytail, not having the energy to braid it. He staggered out into his room and put on his favorite t-shirt that Wufei had left folded neatly for him in his top drawer. Its buttery soft black fabric slid invitingly across his shoulders and abdomen. He looked down at it. It was simple, with a drawing of a white elephant on the front with cursive script that read "its irrelephant". He had always had a soft spot in his soul for puns. He tugged on a pair of dark grey boxer briefs and padded wearily back into the bathroom to brush his teeth. As he did his phone buzzed. Hilde had replied.

 **Got a hotel room.**

Duo frowned. He had expected her not to reply, but it never occurred to him that she would blatantly shoot down his suggestion. She had to be really mad at him, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He knew he had hurt her by basically bailing on her. He had to protect her. He didn't want her to get hurt.

He frowned at his reflection in the mirror.

 _That was why I did what I did, right?_

Dark circles had formed under his eyes and his cheeks looked hallow. He looked like a zombie. Hell, he felt like one. He began making quick work of brushing his teeth before going in to check on Heero, leaving his phone on the bathroom sink. He had spent so much time fretting over the damn thing for the past twenty-four hours that he was completely over it. He couldn't even bring himself to pick it up and put it on the charger.

"Hey, I am crashing. I can't keep my eyes open," he said as he entered the living room. Heero was sitting on his couch looking down at the laptop at something scanning across the screen. Duo saw Milo had finally won him over. The fat, shaggy tabby was curled up next to Heero on the couch with his fuzzy back pressed up against the Preventer's leg. Heero was stroking his head softly as he watched the program he was running. He finally looked up from his work at Duo.

"You should eat something," he insisted. Duo shook his head. He could barely lift his arms, let alone feed himself.

"Nah, tomorrow. I'm beat." Duo realized that Heero was still in his uniform and he hadn't seen Heero carrying anything with him. "If you need a shower you can help yourself to my stuff. I have an extra toothbrush in the medicine cabinet."

Duo felt himself swaying. He didn't hear what Heero had said in response. He made a beeline for his bed and flopped down face first across the center of it, his bare legs left dangling haphazardly over the side. He tried to pull himself up to right himself but changed his mind and just fell limp against his soft navy down comforter.

He had no way of knowing how long he had been lying like that. He knew he must have instantly konked out once his face hit the blanket. Normally he used his phone as a clock but he had left it in the bathroom. Something had roused him from his sleep. He cracked open an eye and, as if opening his eye had turned on his brain, he suddenly felt someone grabbing his shoulders. He flinched at the touch and reflexively swung his arm around to hit whoever was assaulting him. A hand blocked his arm.

"I am trying to get you onto the bed," a cool voice said from beside him. He looked up with his eye and saw the outline of Heero's face in the darkness. "Come on, move up." It took Duo a long time to realize where he was, and that Heero was with him. He groaned as he felt Heero pick him up and somehow maneuver him onto the bed and under the covers. Duo smelled the scent of his own shampoo and soap coming from him. He pushed himself up on an elbow. Heero had laid his uniform out on a chair beside the bathroom and in the dim light he saw that he was wearing one of his t-shirts and a pair of his basketball shorts. His hair looked damp.

 _He must have just taken a shower_ , Duo thought.

"Thanks," he replied weakly before flopping back against his pillow. He felt the foot of the bed shake and then heard Milo's loud, happy purr as the cat made his way up Duo's torso and started kneading his stomach.

"Goodnight," Heero said. Duo watched as he started to retreat through the dark towards the living room.

"Wait," Duo said quickly. He watched as Heero stopped by the door and turned to look at him. "I don't have a blanket and pillow for you to use."

"I don't need them," Heero replied before moving away again.

"Heero, no. Wait." Duo blurted. Heero stopped again just outside the bedroom door. "Just… sleep in here, will ya?"

Duo's half-activated brain really didn't see the problem with it at first but as Heero stood there in the doorway in silence he started to panic.

 _Shit, what did I just say?_

Before he could apologize and take it back Heero walked hesitantly back into the room. Duo could barely see him in the dark; he was merely a shadow among the shadows, drifting around the foot of the bed before approaching the opposite side. He felt the blanket pull back and sensed Heero's weight drop carefully onto the mattress. Milo was purring so loud Duo could barely think. He felt the bed shift as Heero started to settle in. The cat, seeing an opportunity to be warmed from all sides, jumped into the spot between their bodies and made a nest in the blankets.

"Night," Duo said into the darkness. He heard Heero take a soft breath before replying.

"Goodnight Duo."

Duo sat in the darkness for a long time, unable to sleep. He wondered if Heero had finally fallen asleep. He couldn't hear anything from the opposite side of the bed, especially over the happy rumbling of the tabby resting contently between them. He closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep, but having someone else so close to him after being alone for so long was an awkward feeling. He felt tense. It was hard to take that final fall into sleep. He teetered on the edge for what felt like forever.

Heero had to be asleep by now. To Duo it felt like a few hours had passed. The cat finally fell quiet and was sleeping soundly. There was no sound except for the faint humming from the light post beyond his bedroom window and the low hum of his space heater that had kicked on in the corner of the room. His mind started to wander. The darkness behind his eyes was replaced by the image of the charred admin building. What did Quatre have to do with any of this? Why was Heero here investigating him? He had asked Heero earlier about his assignment but he told him to wait until tomorrow to discuss it. Quatre was everything good about human beings. He was kind and generous and peaceful. Why the hell would the Preventers be looking into him?

He tried to tear his thoughts away from any negativity about the former Sandrock pilot. He tried to think of anything else, but he couldn't coerce his mind into thoughts of anything but the school. He imagined Esme and the team being at their desks when the explosion ripped the building apart. He couldn't stop the thoughts from playing out. He watched them get buried in the rubble. He watched Esme's daughter break down in tears at the thought of her mother dead in the attack. He imagined the bomber to be a grizzled and angry old soldier, or some young kid who was against the new world order. Someone angry at the world, like he had been so long ago. He wanted to think that he was different, and that what he had fought for was the right thing. That the deaths he had brought to people's families were justified, but he knew better than that. No death was worth any cause. He had lost everything for causes as a little kid. He had seen everyone he had ever loved killed in the name of some noble right. He had turned into the people he had hated most. He had become a monster.

Guilt and sorrow began to sweep across him. He felt like he was floating weightless in space again. He could see mobile suits bursting into flame as they were being mowed down by enormous trails of beam attack. He heard the cries of the soldiers over the coms screaming for their mothers as their suits began to overheat and melt them alive in the wake of the blast.

As Gundam pilots they had killed so many people. They had brought terror with them everywhere they went. What made him so different from the motherfucker who destroyed the college? He felt his pulse quicken. His mind was racing. He couldn't calm down.

This happened every now and then. He would wake and find terror and anguish in the night. He would see the haunting faces of those who had died.

Something shifted the covers. He grew tense, as the blanket just over the sleeping cat had shifted. A hand grabbed his arm. He jumped at the sudden touch, but then he remembered he wasn't alone in the bed. Heero was lying there beside him. He felt the hand slip down his arm, past his wrist and caress the top of his hand before gently prying his fingers open. Heero had slid his fingers between Duo's, filling the gaps with his own. Duo felt a soft, comforting squeeze. Duo sighed and squeezed back. He began to focus on the hand within his own. Its fingers, cool and delicate but weathered and rough at the tips. Hands that had pried open bars, initiated explosions and guided the world's most sophisticated killing machine through seemingly impossible missions. The hands of the only person who could really understand him.

"Go to sleep," he heard Heero whisper from the opposite side of the bed. Milo heard the voice and had started to purr again. Duo sighed and closed his eyes and tried to focus on the darkness, and the strong hand that was holding him back from falling into it.


	8. Chapter 8

Duo was roused to consciousness by the sound of voices conversing from the living room. He cracked open an eye and saw a couple of renegade rays of artificial UV light trickling into his bedroom from a few gaps in his closed window blinds. He groaned and stretched out his arms and legs as far as they would go, letting his joints crack back into place.

 _I must have slept like the dead,_ he mused as his right hip joint popped in protest. As he stretched the entire length of the bed he realized that he was alone in it. Milo and Heero were gone. He looked over at the blank but tightly tucked side of the bed where Heero had been lying the night before. Before he could stop himself he reached over to snatch the pillow the Japanese Preventer had been using and pressed it up against his own face and breathed. It smelled earthy and faintly metallic, just as Duo had remembered. He kept his face pressed against the pillow for half a minute before groaning and tossing the pillow across the room.

 _God, I am so fucking pathetic. Gross. Jesus, what is wrong with me?_ He jumped off of his bed and hit the ground on all fours, propped himself up on his hands and toes and began frantically doing pushups, as if somehow he would push the sentimentality away. _He is just Heero. Plain old, boring, antisocial Heero Yuy. Sure, the guy is a great mobile suit pilot. And yeah, he is amazing with detonations and causing diversions. The guy is practically indestructible. I have seen him blow himself up so many times, fall and break every bone in his body and yet he is still the strongest and most resilient person I know._ PUSH. PUSH. PUSH. PUSH. Duo felt his arms burning from the exertion.

 _He has more scars than he has friends._ Duo started pushing harder as his mind began to wander to thoughts about the locations of those scars, and how the deep ones felt beneath his fingertips. _SHIIIIITT._ It wasn't long before his arms refused to push any more and he found himself lying face-first on the floor panting, willing away his intruding thoughts. _Good God, I am repressed._

He forced himself up to a stand and began shucking off his nightclothes. He replaced them with a pair of skinny black jeans and a white V-neck t-shirt. He jammed his feet into his socks and trudged into the bathroom to fix his hair. Going to sleep on a damp ponytail had been a mistake and sometime in the middle of the night his long chestnut locks had rebelled and formed a wild tangled nest at the back of his neck.

"Shit," he grumbled as he began picking it out carefully with his fingernails. "Shit shit shit." He tugged roughly at the cluster of knots, taking his frustration out on it. _I shouldn't have asked him to sleep with me,_ he fumed. _I mean it isn't like we fucked or anything. Nothing happened, but now it is just going to make things weird. We agreed not to do that stuff anymore. I really gotta put my foot down on this. The guy is dating Relena Queen-Of-The-Universe for heaven's sake. I don't want to fuck that up for him._ He frowned at himself in the mirror for a long moment. He looked like shit. His face was tanner than usual from his few days on the beach with Hilde but the skin around his eyes was dark and his cheeks had lost their roundness along the way. No wonder Heero had been trying to get him to eat the night before. He flexed his tired arms in front of the mirror. The pushups from a few minutes before had pumped blood into his defined muscles, making them swollen. He was still fit, but definitely a lot skinnier than he had been before he had left the Preventers.

The sudden realization that he had been hopelessly depressed for the past few months hit him like a ton of bricks. He stared at the person in the mirror and didn't recognize himself. It wasn't until Heero had shown up and he had fell into old habits that he had begun to realize how miserable and dead he had been feeling up until now. He realized that he was just floating along and going through the motions. Having his old friend back around had breathed the life back into him, but also brought with it an awkward and uncomfortable anxiety he wasn't used to. He wasn't sure he wanted to invite those feelings into his life.

He heard the quiet drone of conversation from the living room again. The words being exchanged were low and incoherent. Duo quickly beat his hair into submission and managed to get it into his customary neat braid. He tied it off at the end, washed his face and brushed his teeth. His phone was on the edge of the sink, just where he had left it the night before. He tapped it and checked for any new messages. There was nothing, not even from Hilde. With a frown he shoved it into his back pocket, grabbed a dark grey hooded sweatshirt from his closet and tugged it over his shoulders. He zipped it halfway, gave himself a once over, sighed and stepped out into the living room.

Wufei and Heero looked up from their discussion as he entered the room. Wufei looked tired and Heero was somber. Well, more somber than usual.

"Um. You guys gonna tell me what's going on or what?" Duo asked, a crooked smile crossing his face in attempt to break the tension. Heero nodded and gestured for Duo to sit. Duo spotted Milo napping contently beneath the coffee table, his fluffy brown striped tail flopping lazily against his area rug.

A plate had been set on the corner of the coffee table. It was brimming with fluffy scrambled eggs over rice next to a large mug of steaming hot coffee. Duo's stomach growled and grumbled at the sight of it. He wasn't going to ask questions about where the food came from. He sat down and hurriedly devoured the plate's contents and then nosily slurped his coffee, waiting for someone else to break the silence. Heero watched him eat; apparently satisfied that Duo finally had done so.

"We were just discussing my Preventer assignment," Heero began. Duo paused in mid sip and watched him. Wufei stood up and went into the kitchen and started doing dishes as Heero spoke. "My investigation of Quatre. A year ago the Preventers opened a case against a business owner in Beijing. The woman owned a variety of manufacturing companies and assembly factories for different types of industrial power sources. Solar panels, geothermal infrastructure, and nuclear assemblies. It started out as a basic audit of her businesses at the request of the Chinese. They had suspected that she was selling items on their black market. After the audit they started to see inconsistencies in her shipping. To make a long story short, she was shipping banned materials into space."

Duo blinked and looked over at Wufei, who was trying his best to look as busy as possible. Then he looked at Heero, who just held his gaze with his own steady and serious expression. "You're saying Quatre is up to some shit? Where? Here? He is shipping that stuff here?"

"I don't know if it's Quatre, but someone from Winner Corporation is receiving shipments of materials from the Chinese black market to make nuclear generators." Heero explained in a calm voice. He reached out to type something into the laptop on the coffee table. Charts and blueprints of potential projects that could be completed with the shipments sprang to life on the monitor. "Why would they need any secret power plants? What are they using the energy for? The colony is built; they aren't using the materials to construct any more infrastructure for X-18999."

Duo looked back and forth between Heero and Wufei a couple of times before setting his empty mug down hard on the coffee table. "No way. There is no way Quatre is involved in anything like that," Duo defended the former Sandrock pilot, feeling his face grow hot at the very thought that Heero was attempting to implicate Quatre on such ridiculous charges. "So you aren't here because you are on a probation or they are investigating you. They assigned you to Quatre to spy on him." He jumped up from the couch and began pacing back and forth across his tiny living room. "Why wouldn't you just confront him straight up and ask him? Jesus, Heero. You know Quatre better than I do. You know he would never do anything like that."

Heero frowned and leaned heavily against the back of the couch. "You are right. I spent a lot of time with him during Operation Meteor, which is precisely why I feel this needs to be thoroughly investigated. I don't want to believe this either, but that is why I took the case. I wanted to make sure it was handled fairly."

Duo shook his head and reflexively grabbed the end of his braid. He began rolling it between his thumb and index finger, a gesture he often did when he was deep in thought or trying to work something out in his head. "I still don't see why you have to be secretive and lie to him about it. If this were really coming from his company he would want to know about it. If there is proof that it is really happening then you will find it, right? I don't see how keeping Quatre in the dark about it is going to be a benefit."

Heero didn't say anything. Duo looked over at Wufei who was busily drying the pot the rice had been made in. "And you? What do you think about all this? You don't think Quatre did it, do you?"

Wufei looked up quickly from his task. "Of course I don't want to think that," he hissed quickly before hurriedly putting the pot away. "But you forget that Quatre has a brilliant mind, and sometimes even brilliant people make mistakes if they think in their heart that they are justified and doing the right thing."

Duo stopped pacing and crossed his arms tightly. He tugged thoughtfully at his braid before looking down at Heero, who was watching him patiently from the couch. "How can I help?"

"By not getting involved," Heero replied. He had reached out to close the laptop Wufei had loaned him. Duo bristled.

"What do you mean don't get involved? Then why tell me all of this if you won't let me help?"

Heero had stood up and was tugging the bottom of his Preventer uniform into place. "Because I thought you should know. I didn't want to have to lie to you."

Duo frowned. "But it is okay to lie to Quatre?" He said curtly. Duo heard Wufei grumble from the kitchen.

"I told you not to tell him," Wufei said firmly as he stepped into the living room.

"Shut up, Chang." Duo was growing irritated. "He was right to tell me, and I am right to think the whole thing is completely fucked up. It IS fucked up, but I want to help. I want to make sure it isn't true."

Heero shook his head. "You aren't a Preventer." The words were like arrows shot at Duo's chest. Duo involuntarily winced at them and felt tension begin to build in his arms. He clenched his hands into fists and turned to face Heero, preparing to let him know just what he thought about the Preventers and their shitty organization.

"Well, while you two are bickering, I am going to go do actual work. I will meet you at the campus, Duo." Wufei had made his way to the door and was slipping on his shoes. Within moments he had vanished out of the apartment.

Duo was fuming. Heero stood silently on the opposite side of the living room watching him with a cool, authoritative stare.

"Why do you feel like you can just throw that back in my face?" Duo asked, his voice wavering.

"I am not trying to hurt you, Duo. I am only stating a fact. This is a Preventer assignm-"

"A Preventer assignment? Then I still don't get why you are telling me, since I am just some Joe off the street. Or Wufei for that matter. Isn't an assignment like this supposed to be confidential?" Duo knew he was being petty but he couldn't help it. He was mad. He was envious. He was feeling left out.

Heero was silent for a long time, as if weighing something out. Duo was waiting expectantly for an answer.

"I just thought I could confide in my friends," Heero said in a voice that was softer than his usual hard, matter-of-fact tone. The statement caught Duo off guard. He immediately began to feel like a heartless prick. He let the tension that had been building his fists release and let his arms flop limply to his sides.

"I mean," he was searching for the words to say. He watched as Heero stared at him. Duo studied his face. Despite everything that people tended to think about Heero the guy was always up front and sincere about everything he did.

"Well of course you can," Duo blurted. He sighed and tossed the end of his braid back over his shoulder. He felt it settle into its usual spot against his back. Heero seemed relieved that their quarrel was over. He unwrapped his arms and began gathering a few things from around the apartment. His phone from the spot he had been charging it in the kitchen, and then a piece of paper off of the coffee table. Finally he grabbed up the laptop and tucked it under his arm.

"I am going to go talk to some of the people who manage the cargo at the shipping docks," Heero reported in his customary agent voice. Duo had started shoving his feet into his favorite pair of black combat boots. He paused and looked up from hooking his laces.

 _He's telling me shit about his assignment,_ Duo realized.

"Um, okay." Duo didn't know what else to say. He rushed through securing his boots and stood up quickly, watching as Heero walked slowly toward the door. "I am gonna go to campus and see about my friends. Um. Where you gonna be tonight? Do you have a room in the hotel? You can stay here if you want to," Duo offered, gesturing to his humble abode. "Not that I want you here, but Milo gets a little lonely."

As if on cue the fluffy tabby yawned and stretched out underneath the coffee table. He let out a small, affirmative meow. Duo leaned across the small counter of the kitchen and grabbed his cookie jar off of the counter. It was ceramic and shaped like a Dominican Monk with the words "Thou Shalt Not Get Fat" painted on the front. He pulled the top of the monk off and dug around in his stash of receipts and parking tickets for his spare key. He found it, wiped the cookie crumbs off of it and made his way over to Heero.

"Here," he said as he pushed the key into the Preventer agent's hand. "You can come and go whenever. I probably won't be back until later. I have a lot of shit to figure out."

Heero was staring down at the key. He nodded and tucked it slowly into his jacket pocket. "Thanks."

Duo smiled. He felt suddenly very awkward. He cursed himself at this sudden strangeness. He didn't like it. He had never felt this way around Heero before. He was one of his best friends. This was stupid. He felt ridiculous. He had to get out of there before he did something dumb.

"Well, okay then. Good luck on your mission." He grabbed Heero by the shoulder with one hand and opened the door with the other. "So yeah, call me if you need help. I'll see you tonight." And he shoved the former Wing pilot out the door without second thought. Heero went willingly. Once he was clear of the door Duo slammed it closed and pressed his forehead against it.

 _I'm losing my damn mind._ Duo found himself in his freezer, pushing boxes of frozen pizza and quarts of strawberry ice cream around until he found the crushed half empty box of Marlboro Black Menthols. He fished one out and fumbled in a kitchen drawer for a lighter. He lit it, took a long drag and exhaled with a sigh. He let his mind completely empty as he finished the lone cigarette, ashed it in the sink and then threw away the evidence. He was never one to smoke, but he found it a relaxing and meditative practice. He only ever indulged during emergencies, and having the stress of Hilde being pissed at him, his friends at work possibly being dead, Quatre breaking treaty laws and Heero looking at him with _that face_ was emergency enough. He looked down at Milo who had come out from under his hiding place to investigate the smell of smoke. The cat was sitting primly in the center of the room staring at him with his large, green unblinking eyes.

"This is all your fault," Duo said as he grabbed his keys and headed for the door. "See you later, bud."

 _Meow._


	9. Chapter 9

Activities on the colony had resumed but there was still a palpable tension in the air. Shops had opened but were still relatively empty. The occasional colonist made their way cautiously down the street. Everyone Duo saw seemed to be weighed down by the possibility that another attack could happen. Everyone he passed seemed preoccupied in their own thoughts, distracted by their own anxiety or grief. The feeling of fear and oppression reminded Duo of how life had been on L2 as a kid. The faces of the colonists on X-18999 were exactly the same as the dejected people of L2 in late AC180.

He made his way across his housing area and to the college campus. He managed to get through the guards at the perimeter with no problems. Apparently Wufei had warned them that he was coming and had arranged for him to pass through unhindered. He walked past the decimated administration center and to the central quad of campus. Various government officials were walking through the grass taking photographs or measurements on handheld devices. A bomb sniffing dog and its handler were drifting through the rubble of the dormitory that had been partially blasted out.

Duo didn't know where he was headed, only that he needed to find Wufei. Nobody had directed him anywhere so he found himself drifting aimlessly through the destruction in hopes of running into someone he knew. He stopped in front of the technology lab that had been completely leveled.

 _Why this building?_ He looked just forty feet across a cement walkway to the literature and arts department building that was standing primly nearby completely unscathed. _Why the technology building and then a dorm? What could those two possibly have in common? A specific student? Maybe it was aimed at a student in the dorm, and that student's corresponding instructor? But then what about the administration building? Who could have possibly been targeted from there? Unless of course the person was jaded?_ _If I were the bomber I would have wanted something at the tech lab but couldn't have it because of something the administration had done to me. The dorm would have to be revenge against someone who got it instead. A scholarship? A grant? Placement in a specific program?_

His thoughts were interrupted by a strong hand against his back. He automatically tensed and swung around, prepared to defend himself when he found himself nose to nose with a smiling and stunningly handsome blond businessman.

"Quatre," Duo blurted. He took a step back and stared in surprise. Quatre was smiling brightly at him.

"I called your name a few times but you didn't hear me," Quatre explained, his personable smile never leaving his face. Duo couldn't help but smile back.

"Yeah, I am sorry. I was just thinking."

"Heaven help us." Duo swung around at the sound of a smooth female voice from down the walkway. It was Esme, his lead tech from his maintenance team. Duo nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of her. He rushed over and greeted her with a hug.

"Jesus, Esme. Thank God you are alive. Why the hell didn't you answer your phone?"

The middle-aged woman smiled warmly and chuckled. "I'm sorry. I had left it in the office. I was just on my way back into the admin building to get it when the blast went off."

Duo tensed. "What about the others?"

Esme shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Everyone is fine. Nobody was in at the time except for me. I had released them all for lunch."

Duo breathed a long sigh of relief. "That is awesome. Great. That is really great. Shit." He felt like 100 lbs had been lifted from his shoulders. He could finally relax. He was sure he had to have known one of the 62 casualties. That was still a lot of victims, but Duo knew it could have easily been many more if it hadn't have detonated during the lunch hour.

He looked at Quatre who was standing nearby with his usual trademark friendly and approachable expression. He seemed out of place here. Everyone else was wearing a uniform or clothes appropriate for moving debris but Quatre was as formal as ever. He was wearing khaki colored slacks with a pale blue shirt buttoned up all the way to his throat. He looked sharp and well tailored. Now that he was built like an underwear model the guy looked more like something out of a designer watch advertisement than a Gundam pilot.

"So what have you found out?" Duo asked Quatre. He noticed that the blond holding a file brimming with paperwork in his left hand. Quatre's eyes shifted from Duo to Esme before returning back to lock eyes with him.

"Actually, I came to tell you the investigation is closed. They caught the bomber last night around midnight UTC on a shuttle headed to the Lunar Spaceport headed to Earth." Quatre smiled and handed Duo the file. Duo saw Esme shift uncomfortably behind him.

"Who was he?" She asked, clearly concerned about it. This whole exchange was giving Duo a strange feeling. He began to study Quatre's face closely. The former Sandrock pilot didn't seem like himself. Something was off. Duo watched as Quatre pushed his hands into his pockets and smiled a little harder than usual.

"I am not sure. Some student from the tech lab." Quatre looked down at his watch and sighed. "Sorry guys, I have a lot of stops to make today. When you are done with that file could you drop it off at my office, Duo?" Duo didn't get a chance to respond. Quatre was waving at him and striding off down the sidewalk towards a large group of investigators and a couple of Maganacs. He said a few words to them and shook a couple of hands before vanishing around the corner with his personal entourage.

Duo saw that Esme watching him. He didn't know if she knew about his previous relationship with Quatre or not, but she seemed to sense that something was wrong between them, too.

"I was wondering if you want me to make a proposal for a replacement server for the campus?" She asked dutifully. Duo nodded.

"Yeah, of course. But don't burden yourself too much. Take a couple of days off. You deserve it." Duo smiled at her and bid her farewell. He hurried back down the path he had come down previously, past the tech lab and the dormitory to the administration building. He found an empty bench beside the rubble of the admin building and sat down and began thumbing through the file folder Quatre had given him.

According to the file the bomber was a nineteen-year-old student named Ira Tull from District 4. That colony district Duo knew was a lower income area. Since the colonies were run on a moderately socialist platform there were no extreme poverty areas. Everyone was either just skating by or was average middle-class, except the ridiculously rich who ran the councils or conglomerates. Duo knew this area. He had been to a scrap yard a few blocks away on the hunt for old circuitry for Hilde about a month ago.

 _Hilde_. Duo grabbed his phone quickly from his pocket and checked his messages. Hilde had texted him.

 **Leaving for Earth at noon.**

Duo checked the time. It was 1038 UTC. He closed the file and tucked it under his arm and began to jog in the direction of the spaceport. He couldn't let Hilde leave the colony without making up with her.

He arrived at the spaceport within fifteen minutes. The stretch of sidewalk where the barricade had been the day before was bare save the occasional confused tourist. Duo rushed through the security line and ran through the spaceport looking for his friend. He finally found her slouched in a seat by a window looking out on the empty space where the shuttle would eventually dock. She had her ear buds in and was checking something on her phone. He took a deep breath and tried to strengthen his resolve before approaching her. He tapped her softly on the shoulder and then backed up to give her some space. He knew Hilde. She was capable of holding a grudge as hard as he did.

Hilde yanked her ear buds out and jumped up from her seat to face him. "About damn time. Took you long enough."

Duo frowned. "I ran all the way over here." He put the file folder Quatre had given him on an empty seat before walking around the row of chairs to stand beside her. "I can't believe you stayed in a hotel last night. You should have come over to my place. I wanted you to meet Milo."

Hilde scowled. "Really? You could have come and found me. Nope, you were to content to have me out of the way."

"Hilde…"

"No, Duo. I know you. I knew from the minute Heero showed up in that uniform that I was going to be cast into the wind. It's okay, I'm used to it." Duo winced. He knew exactly what Hilde was referring to. She was right. He had abandoned her many times to go off on assignments and Preventer missions. More times than he cared to think about. Hilde gestured to the file Duo had set down. "You don't work for them, and yet I bet you are going to be doing all kinds of crazy leg work. I thought you hated the Preventers. Why are you doing this?"

He crossed his arms over his chest. "It isn't a Preventer thing." He couldn't tell her the whole situation, because he really didn't know what to think. Quatre, the bomber, the school and the arms dealing. His head began to ache from the thought.

Hilde didn't seem convinced. They stood in silence for a couple long minutes, avoiding eye contact before Duo finally broke.

"You are right, okay?" He grumbled, feeling like asshole. "You are right about everything. I'm sorry. I just… feel like by doing this I am worth something. That I am making a difference." He was surprised at the words that came flowing out. The abrupt realization was new to him, too. Hilde softened at his words and dropped the arms that she had propped angrily up on her hips and closed the distance between them to hug him tightly around the waist. Duo folded his arms around her shoulders and rested his chin on her soft, fluffy hair.

"Just don't make any stupid choices," Hilde said sternly. Duo smiled. She really was the best friend he could have asked for.

"Do I ever?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. He couldn't help but laugh. "Fine! Fine. I won't, I promise."

Hilde smiled sincerely and shoved Duo off of her. "You owe me nine days of vacation, so don't go and get yourself killed."

Duo waited with her until she boarded the shuttle and then stood in the departure window and waved until the shuttle had vanished into nothing more than a speck of dust in the infinitely speckled darkness of space. He grabbed the file and made his way out of the spaceport, feeling fortunate that Hilde had forgiven him. He wasn't sure he would have forgiven him if he were in her shoes.

It was 1304 UTC by the time he had gotten back to the campus. Aside from the security around the perimeter there didn't seem to be anyone else around. He pulled his phone out and texted Wufei to ask him where he was.

 **Home. Left campus an hour ago. Saw Quatre,** was Wufei's reply.

Duo texted back and asked if he could stop by and was immediately granted permission. He began making his way towards Wufei's neighborhood. It was eight blocks north of the campus in a quiet neighborhood attached to one of the colony's many quaint wooded parks. He stepped up to the door of Wufei's town home and gave it a sharp knock. A minute later he heard the lock turn and saw the door open. Wufei was standing on the opposite side wearing a dark navy and white Chinese style jacket with a matching pair of slacks. He had his glasses on but upon seeing Duo had taken them off and folded them to tuck into his coat pocket.

"Come in," he said plainly before moving out of the way to give Duo clearance. Duo stepped inside and kicked off his shoes, leaving them in a haphazard pile beside Wufei's neatly organized shoe rack. Normally Wufei scolded him for it but the former Shelong pilot seemed too preoccupied to focus on such trivialities.

"So, you saw Quatre too, huh?" Duo wasted no time getting to the topic he knew Wufei had to be mulling over. The Chinese man nodded before padding down the hall towards his superbly decorated living room. A rectangular elm coffee table in front of Wufei's modern white couch was covered in files and folders. A cup of black coffee sat in the center of the pile. Wufei had clearly been busy. Duo took a seat on the couch and added his file to Wufei's assortment. Wufei sat on the opposite side of the short table in a carved half-moon chair and grabbed his cup. He took a long sip before speaking.

"Yes. He found me on campus. He had a large group with him so we didn't say much to each other." Wufei gestured to the file Duo had tossed on the table. "What is that?"

"Quatre gave it to me." Duo explained. He opened it and pulled out the top sheet of paper with the identity of the bomber on it. "He said the investigation was over and that they caught the guy. Listen to this: Ira Tull, 19, Male, Fourth District."

Wufei looked up from his cup, his normally narrowed eyes widened. "Fourth?"

Duo nodded. Wufei frowned and got up from his seat. He began walking towards the kitchen. "Can I get you something to drink?" He knew better than to ask Duo if he wanted something to eat. The last time Duo had come over and had lunch Wufei had eaten him out of house and home.

"Some of that honey coffee you made me last time," Duo answered automatically. "Oh, and those hong-shoe pyen things if you have some."

Duo heard Wufei grumble before he rummaged through his cupboards. "You mean _hongshupian._ "

Duo flipped through the file folder. "Yeah, that is what I said." He looked over the file carefully. There was a list of the casualties. Duo scanned it slowly, reading each name aloud. He didn't recognize any of the names in particular, but that didn't mean he hadn't seen any of the victims around campus. He flipped to the next page. It was a photograph of the kid who had set off the bomb. He was a young, fresh faced bio-chemical student who would have been 100 lbs soaking wet. He scanned the file. There was nothing really pointing to the kid aside from the fact he was picked up on at the Lunar Spaceport headed to the Lunar Earth Transit point and that when he was stopped to be questioned he had apparently confessed to the whole thing. There was no real motive outlined yet.

Duo frowned and folded the file and set it back on the table just in time to receive his offering from Wufei. The Chinese man had made him a large mug of steaming cream-colored coffee and had filled a bowl with large, crispy sweet potato chips. Duo dug into them noisily as Wufei took the file and began flipping through it. He began to say what Duo had been thinking all along, "none of this makes sense."

"You're tellin' me," Duo mumbled between chips. Wufei had pulled his glasses out of his pocket and was peering through their round lenses at the information in the file. He sighed and tossed it onto the table.

"Then why was the threat called in from the Twelfth District the day before? Where is the connection there?" Wufei began digging through the piles he had stacked on the table. "Why the administration building? Why the dorm? His admission says nothing about why he did any of it, aside from a 'yes I bombed the school' and his height and weight. This is wrong. Why would Quatre give this to you, anyway? You aren't a Preventer or a police officer."

Duo shrugged and started to slurp up his creamy coffee. "Maybe he thought I would want to know?"

Wufei shook his head. "I saw him earlier this morning. He never said anything about this to me. He never mentioned that the case was closed." He picked up an aerial photograph of the campus and pointed at the picture of the tech lab. In the photograph the building was still intact. "Bio-Chemical Engineering doesn't have any classes or labs in the tech building. They generally use the basement of the language arts building because of space restrictions in tech. So, why would this kid bomb the tech building? He lived in the dormitory that was bombed. Why would he bomb his own room?" Duo blinked. He hadn't read that part in the file.

"I don't know, man. I have the same problems with this that you do. None of this adds up." Duo picked the last few crumbs from the bottom of the bowl and gratefully swallowed the last gulp of his coffee. "You want to know what I think? I think someone rich is covering for someone."

Wufei leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. He was staring up at an abstract calligraphy drawing just behind Duo's head. His eyes were dark. "That would be a reasonable theory."

"Exactly. The bomb threat was in Twelfth District, right? The day before. Only rich fuckers live in that neighborhood. Let's just say some rich kid was mad at someone and threatened the school, but then he actually bombed it this time. Revenge? Anger? Being spoiled? Whatever it was, someone high up found out and is trying to cover it up." Duo began bouncing his knees as his mind began to race with thoughts. "And what if they just told Quatre whatever they wanted to and he didn't question them because they are his peers?"

Wufei nodded. "I hope that is true. I would hate to think Quatre is an active part of this."

Duo straightened on the couch. His knees stopped bouncing. "Yeah, me too."

** Author's Note: I was thinking about the placement of the colonies the other night and calculated that if Duo and Hilde were to leave California for the Lagrange 3 point it would take them approximately two years to get there with our current shuttle technology. To make up for the fact that they arrived less than a day later, I am going to play my "FUTURE TECHNOLOGY" card here. This is fic, we won't let silly mathematical rules hinder our plot.**


	10. Chapter 10

Part One

Duo and Wufei had worked well into the afternoon on the bombing case. They had tried hard not to focus on the Quatre aspect of it, but every theory they came up with somehow involved the former Sandrock pilot being either a conspirator or somehow involved in the cover up. Duo had left Wufei's house with more questions than answers.

He made his way across the colony and back to his neighborhood with the file Quatre had given him tucked casually under his right arm. He checked his watch. It was 1902 and the lights in the colony were in dusk mode, incrementally dimming to simulate the coming of night. As far as Duo knew the CPD had lifted the curfew. Even so, there were hardly any people on the streets.

He stepped around the corner and ducked through an alley he often used as a shortcut. It wove between the backs of a strip mall. He picked his way around a few dumpsters and piles of empty pallets. Before he could exit the narrow walkway he heard a noise from behind a pile of empty boxes. He paused and listened for the sound again. A long moment passed before he heard a rustling from behind the boxes, and then a faint mewing noise. He turned and carefully padded his way to the stack and peeked over the edge. A set of bright fearful yellow eyes looked up at him from the shadows. It made a small hiss and darted out from behind the boxes to scamper down the alleyway. As it revealed itself he saw that it was indeed a young, skinny black cat. It darted behind a trashcan and vanished from view.

Duo sighed, shrugged and made his way back towards the street. He always had a soft spot for cats. Cats were resourceful, sneaky, and lethal but somehow managed to maintain their poise and cuteness despite themselves. He had found Milo in a similar situation when he first moved to X-18999. Milo had been half-starved and was digging around in the dumpster behind his apartment. For the first month he had lived on the colony the cat avoided him like the plague. He had casually started earning the cat's trust. Every day he took his trash out he would leave a can of tuna beside the dumpster. After a week he noticed that Milo was waiting for him, still hiding, but clearly anticipating his dinner. After a little coaxing he had managed to touch him. Then one day after Duo had left a fresh can of fish outside by the dumpster he heard a noise at his front door. When he opened it Milo was waiting outside. He walked in like he owned the place, claimed his spot under the coffee table and had decided to become Duo's new roommate. He loved that cat, and was grateful that Milo had shown up when he did. He really had desperately needed the company.

He hurried down the street and shoved his hands into his sweatshirt pockets as a cool breeze began to blow from the colony's climate control system. He could see his apartment building just beyond a wide instersection with a four way stop. He paused on the corner and glanced down the street, looking both ways. A white sedan was approaching one of the stop signs and appeared to be slowing down so Duo stepped out onto the yellow striped crosswalk. He was halfway across he heard the car's engine revving. The ground under his feet began to tremble as the sedan careened toward him. He was momentarily stunned but his reflexes kicked in a nanosecond later. Just before the car's hood could scoop him up he fell forward and rolled out of the way. He promptly jumped to his feet and watched as the sedan sped away down the street. Angry, he began to chase after it.

"Motherfucker!" He screamed as it vanished around a corner. He stopped in his pursuit and doubled over, panting. He could feel raw adrenaline pounding through his veins. His entire body was throbbing. He cursed himself for not catching the license plate number. After straightening to a stand he made his way back to the corner. Just before he could round the corner he heard the sound of tires screeching up behind him. The sedan had returned and was racing like a bat out of hell toward him. He couldn't believe it. His anger morphed into unrestrained rage. He turned on his heels and ducked around the corner. There was nowhere to hide, no alleys to tuck into. He just hoped he could make it to his apartment building entryway before it could catch up.

He heard the car scream around the corner behind him. He could hear the engine roaring as it began to close the distance between them. Twenty feet. If he could just get to the door he would be fine. Ten feet. His lungs began to burn as he pounded the cement as hard and fast as he could. He lunged for the door and grabbed at the handle. His hand slipped. He frantically tried again, ripped it open and jumped inside. He landed prone on the floor. Gunshots rang out from the street. He covered his head with his arms as the glass from the entryway shattered. Duo tried to count the shots. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7- a sharp stinging pain bit into his leg and interrupted his count.

He heard tires screeching from the street and the rumble of the car dying off as it retreated from the scene. He heard a slam from the top of the stairwell and then quick footfalls. Duo groaned into the glass-covered floor and started to push himself up. A pair of black boots landed on the ground in front of him. He recognized them immediately. He looked up to see Heero standing over him in just the slacks and undershirt of his uniform with his handgun held up with both hands in a tactical hold. He had looked Duo over once before running out of the door.

Duo grunted and tried to tuck his legs under himself but when he tried to swing his left leg around his muscles began to protest. Sharp stabbing pulses were paralyzing his muscles, making them completely useless. Duo recognized the sensation. He had been shot only once before in the arm during a Preventer mission, but the feeling had been exactly the same. The pain wasn't too bad right now, but he knew once the shock began to wear off it would be almost unbearable. How Heero had always managed to walk and talk after being shot was beyond him. He carefully dragged himself across the glass, rolled, and then propped his upper body up against the wall. A long smear of bright red blood had traced his path on the cream colored linoleum. He grit his teeth against the sharp pain in his thigh and began picking a long shard of glass out of the palm of his hand. His mind was surprisingly calm. He could think only of the glass in his hand and the smudge of blood on the ground. He no longer felt angry. His entire body and mind was going numb.

 _Good old shock,_ Duo mused. He finally picked out the glass and flicked it onto the floor. A small bead of blood began to form against his skin. He licked it off and then inspected the small indentation the glass had left. He heard the door open and the sound of footsteps on the broken glass. Heero leaned down and began inspecting his leg. Duo stared at the top of his messy hair and reached out to pat Heero's shoulder.

"I'm fine. Help me up."

"Where are your car keys?" Heero asked calmly. Duo shrugged.

"Uh, the cookie jar I think. Bigfoot keychain. Can't miss 'em."

Heero vanished up the stairs and after a minute or two was descending them again. He had put on his Preventer jacket and had one of Duo's pastel blue towels in his hand. Duo watched as he wrapped the clean towel tightly around his leg to apply pressure to the wound before taking off his uniform belt and forming a makeshift tourniquet around the top of his thigh just above the bullet wound.

"What happened?" Heero asked. Duo shrugged and involuntarily groaned as Heero ducked under his arm and began to drag him up from the ground to a stand.

"I got shot," Duo said with a smirk. Heero glared at him.

 _That's more like it,_ Duo thought. _Just like old times._ He could hear Heero sigh. He felt the Japanese agent hook his arm around his waist before he started dragging Duo out the door and into the street. "Where is your car?"

Duo smiled. "Oh man, today is your lucky day."

Five minutes later Duo was strapped into the front passenger seat of an Acapulco Blue 1967 Shelby Cobra GT-500 while Heero was testing the car's higher gear rev limits. Duo groaned as he was tossed around and pulled frantically at the car cover he had wedged under his leg to keep from bleeding on the black leather seat.

"The hospital is three more miles," Duo groaned between gritted teeth. His shock was beginning to wear off and the pain was starting to mount. He closed his eyes and tried to think of something other than the pain, but the only other thought he could muster was that he was going to ruin the shit out of his car's interior.

Frantically he began to say whatever came to mind. "I got this thing from a lady who was selling all her great grandmother's stuff in an auction on Earth. Howard went to bid for me. She had some great stuff. She used to own a gun shop in Chicago…" Heero hit a small bump in the road. Red-hot pain shot up Duo's leg. He hissed and gripped the door panel tightly. "Ughhh…. It has a big block 428 V-8 Police Interceptor engine. Hhnnnngg… 400 horsepower…"

Duo could see the hospital up ahead. Heero ran a red light and skidded to a stop beside an ambulance. The flashy driving had gotten the attention of a police officer and an EMT who had been standing at the corner of the building smoking cigarettes.

Heero got out and walked around to open the car door. Before Duo could protest he was being lifted roughly out of the seat and carried through the ER doors.

"FUCK! OH MY GOD, FUCK. HEERO, WATCH MY FUCKING LEG!"

The EMT and CPD officer came quickly and helped Heero set him on a gurney. He saw that Heero had hung back by the ER entrance as he was wheeled into a triage room.

He had been lucky. The bullet had entered his leg and was stopped by his femur but it hadn't broken the bone. The bullet was intact and the wound had left a clean hole. The surgeon extracted the bullet and closed him up with no incidents. He had been taken to a private room on the third floor where a CPD detective greeted him and a deputy took his incident statement. It had been almost five hours since Duo had been admitted. He had lost his phone in the excitement. He figured someone would find him eventually.

He really had a hard time caring about whether Heero was out joy riding in his car or not. More than likely he was out hunting whoever did this. Duo had found some comfort and amusement in that thought.

 _Morphine is a hell of a drug_ , Duo had thought to himself before carelessly drifting off to sleep.

Part 2

The colony's daylight had been turned up to a late morning simulation by the time Duo had woken up. He opened his eyes and saw the sterile, utilitarian hospital room and was disoriented for a few moments before he remembered the attack from the night before. He tested his leg. He could flex it and move it around a little but it hurt like hell. He looked around for a clock. He found one on the wall over the door to his room. 0932. He leaned back into the bed and stared up at the nondescript ceiling.

 _Someone tried to kill me;_ the thought finally entered his mind. _Who the hell would want to kill me?_ His mind immediately thought of Quatre, and in the next instant he felt shame for thinking it. _No way. There is just no way. But it had to be someone who knew I had the file, right? Someone knew I was looking into the bombing._ He frowned and began to rub his eyes. _Who else knew I had that file… OH SHIT. The file!_ He sat up and began searching around his hospital bed for it. It was nowhere to be seen. His mind began to panic. Had he dropped it out on the street when he was running? He tried to remember details about the car and the chase but he couldn't remember if he had dropped it before or after he ducked for cover. When he was lying in the glass on the floor he hadn't remembered seeing it.

 _Oh fuck. Oh holy fuck._ His heart monitor began to beep wildly as his echocardiogram was zig-zagging all over the place. The alarm went off and within moments a nurse had poked his head into the room.

"Mister Maxwell?" the nurse quickly crossed the room and looked at the monitor. Once he figured out that Duo was just anxious about something he placed a hand gently on his shoulder. "Sir, what's wrong? Can I help you with something?"

Duo was digging around under the blankets. "Did you happen to see an envelope full of papers when I was brought in here?"

The nurse shook his head. "No, nothing was brought up with you except your clothes." He gestured to a clear plastic bag that had been hung on the foot of the bed." Duo frowned and took a deep breath.

"Oh, okay. Nevermind."

"Your friend said to call him when you wake up. Let me go page him." The nurse vanished out of the room. Duo began tapping the bed impatiently. He had to tell Wufei about this attack. He had to let him know that the file was gone.

Just as Duo's heart monitor stopped alarming and his pulse had gone down to a normal range the door to his hospital room opened. Duo looked up, expecting to see Heero walk through the door.

"Oh, good. You are finally awake."

Duo tensed and stared wide-eyed at the figure that had stepped through the doorway. He heard his heart monitor begin to quicken as the tall, blond businessman approached the foot of the bed.

"Um. Hi, Quatre."

**Author's notes: I am SO sorry for this cliffhanger, but it had to be done. :3 I promise you won't have to wait long. **


	11. Chapter 11

Part One

Duo stared wide-eyed as Quatre approached the foot of his hospital bed. The former Sandrock pilot wasn't the person he had expected to see.

 _Wait a minute. How would he know that I was in the hospital?_ Duo's mind began to race. He reflexively grabbed for something to defend himself. The only thing within arm's length was the blocky remote for the room's TV. He snatched it and held it tightly in his hand and began calculating an escape route just in case Quatre had decided to come up to his room himself to finally finish him off. His mind immediately fabricated images of Quatre as a lead mobster, angry with his lackeys who had reported that they didn't know whether he was dead or not. He imagined him flipping his desk and leaving his office in his limo dead set on doing the job himself.

Quatre was staring at him. Duo gripped the remote tightly and heard the alarm from the heart monitor going off beside his head.

"Duo, are you okay? You look pale…" the blond had rounded the foot of the bed.

"No, wait. Stay back." Duo lifted the remote and pointed it at Quatre as if it were a gun or a taser. "Don't come any closer."

Quatre's face expressed deep concern. He respected Duo's request and stopped approaching but didn't seem deterred by his threatening body language. "Duo, what's wrong? Why are you acting like this?"

Duo growled. "How did you know I was in here? How did you know I got shot last night, huh? Why the hell are you here? You gonna try killing me off yourself? You just want me dead because I know too much? I can't believe it. I didn't want to believe it, Quatre." Duo's rant was interrupted by a light, airy laugh. He blinked and saw that Quatre had lifted a hand to cover his mouth. He was laughing at him.

"You laugh, but I know everything! I'm not stupid."

Quatre looked like he was trying to regain his composure. He had lifted his hands up as in surrender to Duo's words. "No, Duo… no. I'm not here to kill you." He chuckled and tried to keep a straight face. "They called me this morning after your surgery. You listed me as an emergency contact, remember?"

Duo blinked and immediately felt embarrassment punch him in the stomach. "Oh. Yeah."

He dropped the remote on the bed and groaned as the blow spread into his chest and ignited a fire on his cheeks. "Shit, yeah. Sorry. I remember."

When he first moved to X-18999 he had to fill out a series of forms about his identity. Among them was an emergency contact list. Normally he would list one of the HR agents at the Preventers or Hilde, but he was asked to list someone locally. He had listed Quatre first, and Wufei as a secondary. He felt ridiculously sheepish.

Quatre was smiling. "Don't worry about it." He approached the side of the bed and sat on the edge. Duo finally got a closer look at him. He seemed tired, much like everyone else on the colony lately, and his normally healthy glowing face appeared duller today.

"Yeah, must be the drugs…" Duo added lamely. Quatre merely nodded.

A long minute of silence passed. Duo felt like he should say something but he didn't know what. Finally Quatre broke their intermission with a gentle pat to Duo's hand. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Guilt began to mix with Duo's embarrassment. He didn't know what to say to that. He felt like shit. He didn't want to believe that Quatre was the bad guy, or that he would willingly do anything that would directly bring harm to others.

Sure, the guy had built weapons during the wars and Operation Meteor, but he only did it because he thought it was the only way peace could be achieved. Wufei's statement about justification drifted into his thoughts. Would Quatre do it all over again? Duo didn't want to think that, but he couldn't deny that most of the facts were pointing to the idea.

He wondered what Heero had found the day before on his investigation. He hoped it was something that would prove Quatre innocent.

"Yeah, I know…" Duo said. He had never felt so uncomfortable in front of Quatre before. He couldn't help but feel like the blond was studying him, gauging his responses. Maybe it was the morphine talking, but he felt like Quatre was trying to tell him something without actually saying anything. Like he was waiting for Duo to figure something out.

The former Sandrock pilot's smile was warm and comforting. "I read the police report about your attack. They have been searching the colony for cars that match your description and I guess they have a few leads. I have also loaned the department any resources they may need in the manhunt. I'm glad you are okay. I saw Heero this morning in the lobby, he said he had been visiting you when you were attacked." Duo stiffened. Quatre didn't know that Duo and Heero were talking again until now. He wondered how much he knew about why Heero was on the colony. Did he think he was still in charge of keeping track of Heero for the Preventers? Did he think that Heero was still working for him?

Duo wasn't going to offer up any more information than he had to. "Yeah, we finally made up."

Quatre's face brightened. "I'm really happy to hear that."

"Yeah, me too." Duo felt like both he and Quatre were forcing conversation at this point. Quatre seemed to feel it, too. He nodded and began to stand.

"If you need anything just give me a call. I'm sorry I can't stay longer." He straightened the cuffs of his formfitting oxford and headed for the door. "I really am glad you're okay. Call me tomorrow and I can clear my schedule so we can grab some lunch."

Duo nodded mutely and watched Quatre disappear from the room. Once he was alone he released a sigh and let his body rest limply against the bed. He felt foolish. His opinion of Quatre had been continuously flip-flopping from one extreme to another and the process had been utterly exhausting. He decided he needed to find Wufei or Heero. He started to pull himself to a sit and swivel his legs over the side of the bed when the nurse poked his head in.

"Mister Maxwell, you really should lie down to rest. The doctor will be in later to discharge you."

"Nah. I gotta go. Give the doctor my thanks," Duo said firmly as he dangled his legs over the edge of the bed. He gave his wounded leg an experimental lift. It hurt but it was a manageable pain. The nurse began to protest. "Listen, I am gonna leave whether you want me to or not. You gonna help me get dressed or what?"

The nurse had conceded defeat and began to help him get dressed. Duo's jeans had been cut off in the ER so there was no salvaging them. The nurse had given him a pair of dark blue hospital sweats and helped him slide them up over his wounded leg. He had given him one final dose of painkiller and a set of crutches, made him sign a release form and reluctantly led him to the elevator.

"Thanks, man. I appreciate it." Duo said as he hobbled into the elevator on his crutches. The nurse nodded and gave him a defeated wave before returning to his unit.

Duo rode the elevator down and made his way through the crowded hospital entrance and out onto the street. He hopped down the sidewalk in the direction of his apartment. He knew that if he could just get to his house he would be able to call Wufei or Heero and reconnect with them.

"Shit, maybe I should have called a taxi." Duo grumbled as he slowly worked his way to the edge of the hospital's parking lot. Just as he got to the corner he heard a familiar rumble approaching from behind. He smiled and turned to see his car rolling up to the sidewalk. It stopped and he saw Heero lean over to unlock the passenger door from the inside and shove it open.

"Where are you going?" He heard Heero ask as he hopped over on his crutches.

"Anywhere but here," Duo answered. He looked over his thankfully unmarred passenger seat before slumping down to a sit in it. He tucked the crutches into the foot well and closed the door. Heero pulled away from the hospital. They rode in silence. Duo assumed he was going to take him home but halfway to his apartment Heero turned off of the road and parked the car in a coffee shop parking lot. Duo grinned.

"Damn, you know me too well."

Part 2

Duo was four croissants, two jelly donuts and a large latte into his breakfast before he could bring himself to talk.

"I lost the file Quatre gave me," he said between gulps of coffee. He looked across the table at Heero who was sipping a double shot of espresso thoughtfully.

"No you didn't. You dropped it on the street. I picked it up." Heero said plainly. "It is in the trunk of your car."

Duo couldn't help but smile. "You are the fucking best, you know that, right?" He bit into a bagel with cream cheese and grinned from ear to ear. He saw the corner of Heero's mouth turn up slightly beneath his espresso cup.

"Yeah, I know."

"So," Duo was finally starting to feel satiated. He sat back in his chair and stretched his left leg out under the table to alleviate some of the pressure he had felt building in his wound. He made a mental note to elevate his leg when he got home. "Quatre came to see me in the hospital."

Heero nodded. "I know. I saw him in the lobby this morning."

"Yeah, he said that. Does he know you are investigating him?"

"Not that I am aware of." Heero had finished his espresso and was peeling an orange. "Why?"

"Just wondering. It felt like he was trying to probe me about something." Duo waited patiently for Heero's smooth fingers to finish peeling the orange before stealing a slice. He popped it in his mouth and chewed it thoughtfully. "I just don't want to believe he is part of that shit, ya know? Did you find anything out yesterday?"

Heero had eaten a few slices before pushing the plate across the table. Duo gladly accepted the offering and devoured the agent's leftovers.

"Nothing that could incriminate or discredit him. I just verified what the Preventers already knew." Heero said in his usual matter-of-fact way. Duo sighed and shifted his leg again.

"Yeah, well, maybe you could let me take a look at the case file?" Duo asked hopefully. Heero immediately shook his head. "Why the hell not?"

"Duo," Heero started. Duo tensed. He knew what the Japanese agent was going to say before he even said it. "I don't want you to know anything else about the case. You're getting too involved."

"Fuck that." Duo said louder than he had intended. A few patrons seated at the window looked over at him. He ducked his head into his bagel and chewed angrily.

"I don't know whether your attack was related to what I am investigating or the bombing, but I really don't want you getting in the middle of it." Heero added, his words only fueling Duo's annoyance.

"Fine, whatever." Duo pouted. He saw Heero roll his eyes. "Just take me home then."

Heero frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "You can't go home. Clearly someone has targeted you and knows where you live. I arranged a hotel room for you to stay at until this blows over."

Duo grumbled. He knew Heero was right about the fact that someone had targeted him and that his apartment wasn't safe at the moment, but it annoyed him that Heero had gone out of his way to arrange shit for him without even consulting him. "What about Milo?"

"I brought him to the hotel." Heero said.

Duo blinked. "He let you pick him up?"

Heero sighed and pushed his jacket sleeve up to his elbow. Duo could see long, bright red cat scratches on his forearm. He couldn't help but laugh. The Japanese agent tugged his sleeve down and smirked. "He put up a good fight."

Duo laughed again. The thought of Heero wrestling an alley cat into a box and getting his ass kicked in the process was more than he could handle. After a few minutes he managed to catch his breath. Heero had taken the moment to order two coffees to go and paid their tab. He grabbed Duo's crutches from underneath the table and shoved them into his chest. Duo gasped, his cheeks hurting from laughing, and hopped up and followed Heero to the car.

"The Yuy Witness Protection Program," Duo said loudly as he slumped into the passenger seat. Heero started the car and pulled away from the cafe. Duo grinned. "Complete with shuttle service, continental breakfast, cat wrangling and unlimited coffee refills!"

"Shut up…" Heero muttered. Duo laughed.

"You know you love me," he said happily as he slapped Heero on the shoulder.

"Hn."


	12. Chapter 12

Part One

Duo stumbled through the revolving doors of the Clearwater Hotel with some difficulty. Managing the spinning motion on crutches had been a challenge. By the time he made it to the other side he had drawn the attention of two of the attendants at the concierge desk as well as judgmental looks from the other patrons waiting in the hotel's posh marble lounge.

He felt out of place and quietly cursed Heero for getting him a room at such a fancy establishment. The Japanese agent had insisted that he chose it because the Preventers had an account with the hotel chain and that it was easier to book it. Duo wasn't convinced. He had a feeling Heero was trying to make him as comfortable as he could, but in the process ended up doing the opposite.

Duo clutched his room's keycard tightly in hand and hopped on his crutches across the spacious lobby to the golden elevator. He pushed the button with the tip of his crutch and waited patiently for the doors to open. A woman was walking by arm in arm with a male escort. She shot him a disgusted look. Duo just smiled at her and then looked down at himself. The blue sweatpants the hospital had given him were hardly fashionable, he knew for sure he had at least three bloodstains on his grey hoodie and he hadn't brushed his hair since the morning before.

 _Yeah, I probably look mental_. Duo mused. The elevator opened and an older man in a business suit stepped out, making sure to give Duo an extra wide berth as he passed him. Duo sighed and hopped into the elevator. He checked his keycard. 621. He tapped the 6th floor button and waited. The doors opened up to a floor even more ostentatious and ornate than the lobby. He bounced down the hall in the direction of his room, scanned the card and then fell inside. He tossed the crutches to the side and turned on the light.

It was a suite, not a room. Duo looked around in awe at what was essentially a miniature apartment. There was a mirrored closet, a living room with a writing nook, a full kitchen and a set of curtained glass double doors that led to a bedroom that was the size of his own apartment. Duo hopped into the living room and collapsed to a sit on the couch. He felt something hop onto the couch next to him. Milo had come out of hiding and was accosting his face with his nose, rubbing on him anxiously.

"Hey, bud. Sorry about all this craziness." He picked the cat up and hugged him against his chest. He felt the heavy, panting vibrations of the cat's frantic purr against his arms. He was sure that Milo had thought he had been abducted and would never see him again. After ten minutes he had finally calmed down, hopped out of his arms and began rubbing at his calves happily. Duo glanced over at the writing nook. Heero had brought his laptop over and had set it up on the desk. He pulled himself up to a stand and limped over and took a seat. He opened the laptop and began to check his messages.

His phone was still nowhere to be found so until then he would have to communicate with everyone through his laptop. He had a message from Hilde saying she had landed on the moon an hour ago, which meant that she was nearly done with her trip to L2. Wufei had messaged him twice. Once was a forwarded memo from the Campus PD stating that the school would be closed for the next four days, and would open the following Monday. The second was a message saying that Heero had told him about the attack and that he should get better soon and that he would stop by his hotel room tomorrow morning to see him.

It seemed Heero had been on top of everything. Duo was actually pretty impressed. He hadn't expected the Japanese agent to go out of his way to help him out like this. Sure, Heero had always been there for him as a partner in the Preventers and had been a good friend in the past, but this was going above and beyond. Duo still felt like Heero was trying a little too hard, but he wasn't going to complain.

He checked his e-mail and saw that Esme had sent him a copy of the proposal for the repairs to the servers and was waiting for approval before she sent it to the purchasing office. He scanned over it carefully, signed his approval and sent it back. He stared down at his now empty in-box and frowned. Now he had nothing left to do. He closed the laptop and carefully made his way into the bedroom. The bed was bigger than anything he had ever seen before. He recalled someone telling him there was something called a "California King" size, and he assumed that this was it.

He saw his suitcase in the corner of the room on a stand. He went up to it and unzipped it; surprised that Heero had even packed his clothes for him. Inside were half of the contents of his dresser neatly piled inside. Duo fished out a pair of jeans, t-shirt, socks, and boxers and hobbled over to the shower. Milo followed him inside and sat on the closed toilet seat and watched him as he tugged his shirt and sweatshirt off. He struggled with keeping his balance and getting his sweatpants off. The bandage that had been wrapped around his thigh was firmly in place. He looked around and found a spare trash liner under the sink and began wrapping it around the bandage. He knew it wasn't the most waterproof solution but he didn't have anything else to use. He stepped into the enormous shower chamber and made good use of all of the complimentary shampoos and soaps. After washing away the smell of dried sweat and hospital sheets he dried off, removed the plastic from his bandage, brushed his teeth with the complimentary toothbrush, braided his damp hair and got dressed before hopping out to the bedroom. He knew he had to elevate his leg to reduce the swelling. He climbed up onto the massive bed and shoved a pillow under his leg to raise it above the level of his heart before flopping back to lie flat against the impressively comfortable mattress.

His thigh was sore. He hadn't seen the wound himself, it had been bandaged by the time he had woken from the surgery, but he knew that the bullet had entered the back of his thigh just over his knee and had lodged against his bone. There was no exit wound, so the majority of the pain emanated from the backside of his leg.

He closed his eyes and felt Milo hop onto the bed and curl up against his side. His thoughts immediately went to Quatre. He was still embarrassed about what had happened in the hospital. He felt like he owed the former pilot an explanation. Quatre had been nothing but nice to Duo his entire career. Of all the people he knew Duo admired him the most. The guy was a genius. He commanded the respect of so many people. Grown men who would follow him to their deaths without a moment's hesitation. People don't just do that because you are cute. They follow you because you can be trusted. If the Maganacs felt like they could trust Quatre with their lives, then Duo felt like he could trust him too. He refused to let the thought that Quatre was doing shady dealings solidify in his mind. Sure he had considered it, but deep down he knew it could never be true. It upset him that the blond was in this situation and he regretting not bringing it up to him in the hospital room. He should have told him. It would have compromised Heero's investigation, but he still felt that Quatre should know what was going on.

He reached for his phone before remembering that he had lost it. Frustrated he let his arms flop down over his head and relaxed. He hoped Wufei found the time to find him tomorrow. He wanted to see if he could get him on board with approaching Quatre about all of this. Maybe they could meet for lunch with him and lay it all out on the table.

Heero was gonna be pissed.

Duo wondered where the former Wing pilot had been going. Heero had dropped him off on the street in front of the hotel but refused to tell him where he was going. He said he would be by later to check up on him and had sped off with his Cobra.

Duo was envious. He wished he could go on mission with him. There was nothing more thrilling than infiltration and investigation, especially with Heero. The guy never backed down from a challenge and had more balls than anyone Duo had ever met. He admired Heero, but he would never want to trade places with the guy. Duo had a rough past and a turbulent childhood but Heero's had been non-existent. As far as Duo had gathered from the bits and pieces the Japanese agent had confided in him he had been trained as an assassin from a young age. He had killed before Operation Meteor, and had been groomed specifically to take orders and perform them without a second thought. Duo recalled seeing Heero struggle with that the entire operation, especially his orders to eliminate Relena. That was one mission he had failed miserably time and again.

Duo wondered where she was now. He saw her stoic face on TV from time to time giving speeches every week or two about Total Pacifism and the future of the Earth Sphere. She had been an amazing person during the war, too. She had stood boldly in the face of danger just as much as they did, but instead of using force and violence to get her message across she used her words and determination. She was definitely Heero's opposite in her tactics, but they shared a similar goal. They both wanted peace and would stop at nothing to see it happen.

He frowned and flexed the ankle on his left leg to try and encourage circulation to his now throbbing thigh. He had tried not to think too much about Heero and Relena but now he had nothing to do but dwell on it.

He knew that Heero loved Relena. He remembered the look of pure determination on Japanese agent's face over the COM when he found out that she had been taken prisoner by Mariemaia. He had blown his own suit up just to get to her. It wasn't about the peace of the world, or killing Mariemaia. It was about getting to Relena and saving her. Heero had been quiet about his relationship with her after that. When Heero had joined the Preventers Duo knew that they were having a long distance relationship. Whenever they were in town for a mission and she was nearby he would go to see her, and vice versa.

She had stopped in to the office many times to visit him. Duo had tried to stay out of his personal affairs at that time and focused only on being his partner at work. They had established a quiet understanding then: that they wouldn't talk about their personal lives.

He lifted his arm and rested the back of his hand over his mouth. His lower lip began to tingle with the memory of Heero kissing him at the spaceport. He finally let himself really dwell on it again. Why had he asked him to do that? The only thing that Duo could think was that it was the only way Heero could think to apologize. He knew that he had been really upset. He hadn't cried like that in front of the Japanese agent before, and he supposed that he didn't know what else to do. Well, clearly it worked. Duo had instantly let go of all the anger he had been harboring against him for six months with just a simple kiss.

His face was warm. He felt stupid for laying around thinking about it, but it was more than just some physical exchange. It meant a lot to him that Heero has asked before he did it. Heero always lived in the moment and acted on his emotions, good or bad. The exchange had brought Duo back. It had made him feel alive again, the way he had felt during Operation Meteor. Back when, despite how confusing and horrible the fighting had been, he knew who he was and what he wanted in life. He wanted to fight for the colonies. He wanted to fight with his friends. He was a mobile suit pilot. He was a Gundam pilot. Heero's kiss had brought the old him back to the surface. He was grateful to Heero for that.

He was exhausted. Bobbing around on crutches and his long internal monologue had worn him out. He let his arm flop limply over his head again and let the inevitable lull of sleep overtake him.

Part 2

Duo heard a knock at the door to his room. He pushed himself up to a sit and took in his surroundings for a moment before inching off of the bed. He groaned as he applied weight accidentally to his injured leg, stumbled and hopped across the room and made his way slowly to the door. He leaned on the couches and tables as he went. It was slow going but eventually he made it and peered through the peephole. He saw Heero in his Preventer uniform standing in the hallway with a plastic shopping bag in one hand and a file folder in the other. Duo unlocked the door and opened it.

"About time," Heero said as he walked through the door. Duo grunted and followed him, using the walls to support his weight. "How is the leg?"

"Fine," Duo said absently. Heero had stepped into the kitchen and Duo was attempting to be right on his heels, though his burning thigh was impeding his progress some. The Japanese agent had set the shopping bag on the counter and was pulling out its contents. Milo had materialized and was standing at the edge of the kitchen eyeing Heero with an evil eye.

"You should elevate it." Heero ordered as he set a Styrofoam takeout box in front of Duo.

"I was," Duo replied. He opened the box and peered in to inspect its contents. It was two grilled chicken breasts over a bed of broccoli and carrots. He blinked and looked up at Heero questioningly. Heero was fishing through the bag, retrieved a fork and handed it to him.

"You need protein for your wound to heal properly," Heero explained. He looked down at the cat that was still mean mugging him from the living room and frowned. Milo made eye contact, growled and then took off to hide in the bedroom.

It wasn't what Duo was craving but it would work. "Thanks," he said as he began to dig into the chicken. Heero had set Quatre's file on the kitchen counter. "So, where did you go?"

Heero seemed hesitant to say. Finally he replied. His voice was low as if worried someone would overhear him. "I went to interview one of Quatre's men."

"Oh yeah?" Duo said between bites. "How did it go?"

Heero shrugged. "Nothing interesting." Duo knew he was lying. He watched as Heero looked around the suite in attempt to change the subject. Duo smirked. He knew just what subject he would change it to.

"So, how is Relena doing?"

He watched as Heero gazed back at him with a cool expression. "Why are you asking?"

"I just wanna know," Duo said with a smirk as he shoveled his food into his mouth. Heero shrugged.

"I haven't seen her in a while," he seemed uncomfortable with the topic. Duo knew he shouldn't pry, but after thinking on it for some time earlier he really wanted to know.

"You guys still dating or what?"

Heero was watching him with a steady gaze, his cobalt eyes locked onto Duo's face. "I don't want to talk about this," he said evenly. Duo shrugged and decided not to force the issue. He gestured to the suite and smirked.

"So what kind of budget do the Preventers have now that they can afford holding people up in places like this?"

"You don't like it?" Heero asked. Duo shook his head.

"Don't get it twisted, it's nice. Probably the nicest place I have ever slept in aside from Quatre's mansion." He gestured to the massive living space with the end tables with their crystal vases and fresh cut flowers. "But it is a little much for someone like me."

Heero shrugged. "You have a low opinion of yourself, then."

Duo hadn't expected that response. He narrowed his eyes and watched as Heero walked across the room to his laptop and opened it. "You're staying here too, right?"

"No, I have a room on the first floor." Heero said flatly as he started pulling up his own correspondence program. Duo blinked. Of course he did. Heero never liked to be on the top floor of anything. Duo always made jokes about the time Heero had fell from the hospital and blacked out before pulling his chute at the last minute, but he knew the real reason was Heero always considered a route of escape everywhere he stayed. If he needed to dart out of somewhere quick being on the first floor was the most logical.

"You got this huge suite for just me? What is this all about?"

"It isn't about anything. I was trying to make you comfortable." Heero said from behind the laptop screen. He was tapping his fingers rapidly across the keyboard.

"Then why are you up here?"

"I came up to check on you."

Duo frowned. "Well I'm fine."

Heero stopped typing and looked up from the laptop. "I also need to borrow your laptop."

"There's the real reason," Duo said with a smile. "You can take it, I don't need it right now."

"No, I'm almost done." Heero resumed typing. Duo sighed and looked around the living area.

There was a TV but he really didn't want to watch it. He always ended up hooked on the news. He had a mild obsession with current events, and in the end all the news was depress him. It was the same old song and dance every time. Someone blew up something, people were hurt, someone claims responsibility, the Pacifists come on to talk about how people need to transcend this current way of life and care for one another and then the cycle starts over the next day.

He stepped behind Heero and tried to look over his shoulder. As soon as he neared the agent he closed the window and snapped the laptop shut.

"What are you doing?" Heero asked tersely, his eyes narrowing on him.

"Tell me what you are working on," Duo insisted.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I told you why."

"Heero, I am going crazy here. Give me something to do. Anything."

"I can't."

Duo groaned and hopped over to the couch. He fell dramatically down onto it and whined, "you know you could use my help."

Heero had stood up from the desk and was making his way toward the door. "Goodnight, Duo. Call my room if you need me. 103."

He was gone. Duo scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. He sat for a long moment cursing Heero Yuy in his mind before he had a brilliant idea. He could just check his laptop and see what Heero had pulled up. He jumped up as fast as his wounded leg would allow and made his way over to the desk. He booted the laptop and tried to revive any program previously opened by Heero, or any web searches. Nothing. He frowned and snapped it closed. Of course the former Wing pilot would be more careful than that, but it had been worth a try.

Duo was restless. He ate a little more and then tried to sleep but couldn't get his mind to rest.

What had Heero been doing on his laptop? What had the Maganac told him today about the shipping and Quatre? Why wouldn't he answer his question about Relena? What had happened there? There was no way they had broken up. The girl had stood on the receiving end of Heero's gun countless times, had stuck it out through death threats and his crazy piloting fiascos: there was no way Relena broke up with him.

 _Unless he broke it off with her._

Duo's mind began to spin at the thought of Heero breaking up with her. Had he actually done it, or was he just avoiding her? He thought maybe the latter. Heero hadn't wanted to talk about it. Clearly it was bothering him. Duo wanted to ask but he knew it would be prying, and he knew that forcing your way into Heero's thoughts never worked. He would push back hard before giving you an inch. He would just have to wait that out and see if Heero wanted to talk to him about it.

It was late. He knew he should sleep. He propped his leg up onto a pillow and tried to ignore the searing pain that stung the flesh around the wound. He couldn't get comfortable. He felt very small in the center of the enormous bed.

He felt bad for irritating Heero. Especially after all the kindess he had been showing him with the hotel room and taking him to the hospital.

It was almost three in the morning when he decided to go find him. He had to get these thoughts off his chest otherwise he would never get to sleep. He grabbed his crutches and hobbled down the empty hallways of the hotel. After ten minutes he found himself standing in front of room 103. He knocked. There was no reply. He tapped on the door again, softly so as not to wake other people up. Still nothing. He sighed.

He felt stupid. As far as Duo knew he could be out and working on his mission. He slowly made his way back to the elevator. He tapped the button and waited. The elevator chimed and the door opened, revealing Heero standing on the other side. Duo nearly tripped over his crutches.

"What are you doing out here?" Duo questioned.

"I could ask you the same thing," Heero replied. The elevator door tried to close. The Japanese agent reached out and stopped the door before it could separate them. Duo slipped inside and stood next to Heero as he tapped the button for the 6th floor. Duo sighed.

"I dunno. I guess I just didn't want to be alone." Duo replied honestly. He could see the reflection of Heero's face in the glossy golden doors. He was frowning. Duo backpedaled. "I mean, ya know, I just got bored and was wondering if you were up."

"She found someone else."

Duo nearly dropped his crutches. _What did he just say?_

The elevator doors opened but neither of them stepped out onto the 6th floor. Duo turned to look at Heero, who was staring at the abstract floral pattern on the carpeted floor.

"Do you know who the new guy is?" Duo asked carefully. The doors to the elevator closed and it started descending automatically back to the first floor.

"Dorothy Catalonia."

Duo's head spun. "Wait, what? Dorothy? I didn't know Relena-"

"Yes, well. It's over." Heero looked more fragile than Duo had ever seen him. He felt like if he touched him he would shatter where he stood.

"Man, I'm sorry. I didn't know. I didn't mean to bring it up."

"Yes you did." Heero said sharply. Duo was caught off guard again. The door to the elevator opened to the empty lobby. Heero reached out to tap the button on the control that closed the elevator door but didn't choose a floor. The door shut them out from the lobby before the Japanese agent turned to face him. "So now you know."

Duo didn't know what to do with this new information. He stood across from Heero in the elevator awkwardly, unsure what he should do next. Heero was watching him with a steady gaze, waiting for him to say something.

"You told me upstairs to call if I needed you. Well… I need you…" Duo finally answered. Heero nodded, the corners of his mouth turning up into a knowing smile.

"Understood."


	13. Chapter 13

**Explicit Slashy Sex Ahead**

Part One

Heero Yuy was a mobile suit pilot, assassin, perfect soldier, Preventer agent, and protector of the colonies. He was a loyal friend and ally. He was also insanely good at oral sex.

Duo was seeing stars. He felt his body involuntarily arch against the bed again as Heero was expertly sucking the life out of him. He couldn't feel anything but raw waves of pleasure pulsing through his body. He was nearing climax so fast and furiously that the sensation was almost painful. Every muscle in his body was screaming for release, twitching uncontrollably. His arms and legs felt heavy as if he were pulling Gs. He couldn't even feel Heero's mouth anymore, just a dull pressure against his pelvis from the source of the pleasure waves. He started to pant. Everything in the room was spinning.

"Sl…slow down…" Duo managed between gasps. He was almost to climax. He didn't know if Heero heard him or not. "I… ohfuck, I'm cummin'!" He went to shove the top of Heero's head back but the former Wing pilot resisted and only leaned down harder into his crotch as Duo spilled his load for the third time that night.

"F… fuckk…" Duo flopped down limply against Heero's hotel room bed and felt his muscles melting into fully satisfied goo. Heero sat up and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before crawling up Duo's body. He hovered over him for a moment before he leaned down to cover Duo's torso with his own. Duo felt Heero's hard cock press gently against his stomach.

"Your turn," Duo pleaded. He reached a quivering hand down to slide between their bodies and grabbed his erection. "Lay down."

Heero shook his head. "No… like this." He had reached down to grasp the top of Duo's hand and was guiding his fingers up and down the shaft. Duo understood and despite his muscle exhaustion he began to manipulate Heero, firmly caressing and pumping his hand against the hardness of his arousal. He felt Heero tremble in his grasp. He used his free hand to grab the Japanese agent by the back of his neck and pulled his face closer until they were nose to nose. He could see the desire in Heero's half-lidded eyes and he couldn't help but smile. Heero was normally pretty serious and guarded with other people, and it made him feel special to know that not many people, if anyone, had seen him look this vulnerable. He leaned in to kiss him softly on the corner of his mouth. He could feel him parting his lips to try and deepen the kiss but Duo pulled back and shook his head.

"No, look at me." He said softly. Heero groaned and tensed under his manipulations but immediately obeyed. Duo grinned and started to rub him more aggressively, enjoying the shifting expressions on the other young man's normally stoic face. He looked almost embarrassed. Duo's smile widened. "What's wrong?"

"I know… what you're doing." Heero said between hitched breaths.

"Eh? I'm not doing anything…" Duo quickened the pace and managed to rub out a moan from the now twitching Japanese agent. Heero tried to look away but Duo grabbed his chin and turned his face back to meet his own. "Don't look away from me."

Duo could see the energy building behind Heero's dark blue eyes. He watched as he groaned, bit his lip and made the hottest orgasm face he had ever seen before dropping his face into Duo's shoulder. Duo felt Heero's warm, sticky ejaculate leap out of him and coat his hand. Heero dropped his weight from his arms and rested heavily against Duo's torso. Duo could feel his quick, deep breaths against the bare skin of his shoulder.

They lie there for a long time, unmoving. After a while Duo could feel the rhythmic tympani of Heero's slowing heartbeat against his own chest. He pulled his sticky hand out from between them and wrapped his arms around him and hugged him firmly against himself.

It had been years since they had done this. Duo recalled times when they would lie together, holding one another during Operation Meteor. They didn't always fuck beforehand, either. Sometimes Duo just needed the closeness of someone else: another person's warmth to comfort him and make him feel secure. He knew Heero must have needed that too, because he would often initiate it. He took a long, deep breath. Heero's distinctive metallic scent was intoxicating. He had missed it. He took another breath and squeezed Heero tightly. The Japanese pilot didn't move. Duo wasn't going to make him. He reached down to with a hand to grab the corner of the ball of blankets at the foot of the bed and began to pull it up to cover them.

"Don't you want to shower?" He heard Heero say against his shoulder. Duo smirked.

"You think you can get up?" Heero was silent. Duo couldn't help but chuckle. "Thought so."

Part Two

Duo had no idea what time it was. He opened his eyes and saw that he was under the blankets, alone. He pushed himself to a sit and looked around the hotel room, which was flooded with afternoon-level colony light. The bathroom door was closed and he could hear the sound of rushing water from the sink. He scratched the back of his head and looked down at the blanket resting over his chest. Carefully he pulled it back with the intention of inspecting the bandage on his leg but instead was distracted by the fact he had hickies all over his waist and the insides of his thighs.

"Jesus!" He blinked and started to count the little bruises along his legs. "Fourteen!"

Heero had opened the bathroom door and was standing in the doorway in nothing but black boxer briefs, rubbing his messy brown hair with a towel. "What did you say?"

"I said fourteen fucking hickies, Heero! Jeeez. What were you trying to do, mark me as your territory?"

"Yes." Heero said plainly before returning to the sink. Duo smirked and started trying to dismount the bed but found it hard to command his body to obey. His bandaged wound was still very sore. Hell, he was sore all over and his dick ached something fierce. Heero had sucked him off three times in a row. Duo couldn't remember a time where he could consecutively cum more than twice. He supposed this was a special circumstance. He had to admit that his mind had been building him up for this moment, and it helped that Heero was a damn magician with his mouth.

There was a knock at the door. Duo saw Heero step out of the bathroom in his white v-neck Preventer undershirt and uniform slacks. He went to the door, looked through the peephole and then started to open it.

"No, wait! SHIT!" Duo wailed in protest as the Japanese agent let the door swing open. Unlike Duo's enormous suite Heero's room was a more typical hotel room. There was a full sized bed, a bathroom and a desk by the window. There was nowhere to hide. He grabbed the blanket and yanked it over his lap just as Wufei stepped into the room.

"Jesus, what is that smell- oh. There you are, Duo."

Duo wanted to die. Wufei had walked past Heero and was halfway to the bed before he saw him. He could see the Chinese man putting two and two together. Heero just stood there calmly watching it all play out. Duo sat there like a deer in headlights. He wasn't sure if he should get up and play it off and make a joke, or run for his life. Before he had a chance to make a decision Wufei had made it for him.

"Well, I see that you two made up," Wufei said before he turned his back to Duo to look at Heero, who was standing by the now closed door with his arms crossed over his chest. "Anyway, I got some news about the bombing I thought you both would want to hear."

Duo was debating whether to stay and to hear what Wufei had to stay but then decided it was a good time to bolt for the bathroom. He wrapped the blanket around his waist and scampered into the bathroom as fast as his injured leg would allow and closed the door. He could hear Wufei speaking to Heero on the opposite side. He figured he would get a recap after a quick shower. As he washed away the evidence from their sexual encounter he wondered if Wufei knew that he and Heero had been having sex in the past. He had always spoken of Heero as a good friend to Wufei, but he had never told anyone else about their private exchanges. Had it been that obvious?

He finished getting cleaned up, borrowed Heero's toothbrush and combed out his hair and rebraided it before wrapping a towel around his waist. He poked his head out of the bathroom and saw Wufei and Heero standing by the door of the hotel room looking over what appeared to be a map or schematic. He stepped out and looked around for his clothes. He hadn't brought anything fresh or new to Heero's room. He hadn't anticipating staying there. He saw that Heero had a suitcase with a recent spaceport shuttle tag on it. He went over and opened it, eyed the contents and saw that it was mostly variations of his Preventer uniform. Beneath a spare jacket was a pair of navy slacks and a white t-shirt. He stole those and some underwear and inched back into the bathroom in attempt not to draw any more attention. He shucked on the clothes, thanked the fates he and Heero were practically the same size, and returned to the doorway.

"-to this area, here. And then we can use Quatre's program to evaluate whether they were in that location at the time." Wufei was explaining as Heero nodded in approval. Duo saw Wufei glance over at him. "You can explain it to Duo on the way. Good luck."

Duo watched as Wufei handed Heero a thumb drive and a couple pieces of paper before stepping out of the hotel room. Heero turned around and gave him a once over before shoving the thumb drive into his pocket.

"What was that about?" Duo asked as Heero crossed the room, folded the papers and stuffed them into his pocket before continuing to put his uniform on.

"Wufei found some information that may discredit the CPD's police report about the bombing suspect. He found a list of people with motive on campus, related to the technology lab and the administration office. These suspects were living in the dorms at the time. He wants me to go to the colony police department and get a copy of any information they have on the people on his list. Prior records, tickets, and infractions."

Duo nodded and grabbed his socks and boots, sat on the floor and began shoving his feet quickly into them. Heero was pulling his Preventer jacket on over his shoulders and had grabbed his gun from somewhere inside his suitcase. He slid it into a holster inside his jacket.

"Sounds great! You gonna let me come help, right?"

He hopped carefully up to his feet, gathered his crutches from beside the door and waited for him. Heero frowned. Duo was bracing himself for opposition and was just about to present his argument when Heero cut him off.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Duo blinked. Heero reached into his suitcase and pulled out his spare Preventer jacket and held it out to him.

Duo stared at him in disbelief. Heero smiled and walked across the room to hand it to him. Duo quickly pulled it on and zipped it up.

"Okay! Let's get to work!" He exclaimed.


	14. Chapter 14

Part One

The CPD headquarters was on the opposite side of the colony from the spaceport.

Duo had tried to get into the driver's seat of the Mustang, but after a small struggle against Heero he found himself riding in the passenger seat in angry silence.

 _It's my car. My leg is fine._ He glared at Heero, who was ignoring him for the task of driving through the colony's lunch hour traffic. Heero's argument had been that Duo would exacerbate his injury by having to depress the clutch while he drove. He looked at the traffic and frowned. He would have had to go in and out of first gear continuously with this kind of traffic. He frowned. _So maybe Heero had a point._

He tapped a finger against the image of a Cobra printed into the black leather on the center console. It felt strange riding as a passenger in his own car, especially without music.

He leaned forward and opened the glove compartment and began digging through its contents. He had a small collection of cassette tapes inside. The car had come with a cassette player and a handful of tapes that had long since expired. Magnetic media was said to only last thirty years, and when Duo had found them they had been completely useless. However, when he visited Hilde two years ago on L2 a guy came into the shop looking for some obscure parts and they had struck up a friendly conversation. It turned out that the guy had specialized in recovering old magnetic media and that his hobby was restoring and rerecording old cassettes. Duo had decided to keep the player in the car for authenticity and had paid the guy to recover the tapes that had come with the car. Doing so had been an education in American rock bands from the 70's to the late 80's. Fleetwood Mac, The Cars, Boston, STYX, Blue Oyster Cult, America, Hendrix, Heart, Kansas… Duo had fallen in love with albums he had never had known existed.

He dug through the collection, looking for his favorite one. "Moving Pictures" by Rush (AD1981). He found it on the bottom and carefully fished it out. The clear plastic outer casing had a few light cracks in it, but he could still see the cover art. The picture represented a triple entendre. The first was literally movers carrying giant pictures. The second was the people standing nearby watching them work, being emotionally "moved" by the pictures. The third was represented on the back of the album where the entire scene was revealed to be a set for a motion picture film.

He pulled the white cassette out of the case and slid it into the tape deck. Heero glanced down as he did.

"What is that?" The Japanese agent enquired before turning back to focus on the traffic ahead of them.

"It's an existential experience," Duo said in his best mysterious voice before hitting the sideward triangle that's vertex was pointing to the right. It was the button he had figured out made it play. With the sudden blast and crescendo of electronica and the throb of a drumbeat the first track, "Tom Sawyer," belted out of updated speakers.

" _A modern day warrior  
Mean, mean stride  
Today's Tom Sawyer  
Mean, mean pride_

 _Though his mind is not for rent  
Don't put him down as arrogant  
He reserves the quiet defense  
Riding out the day's events  
The river_"

"Is that supposed to be a woman singing?" Heero asked. Duo scoffed.

"What? No, that is Geddy Lee. He's amazing."

Heero shrugged, apparently unimpressed and downshifted as he took a right turn onto a side road. They were passing Duo's apartment and working gradually toward the headquarters. Duo relaxed and stretched his legs in front of him and looked out the window. The colony seemed more alive today. People were beginning to forget about the bombing and the sense of impending danger was starting to lift. He frowned at the thought and wondered about what hidden darkness was lurking just beyond the edges of their fragile and temporary peace.

The next track, "Red Barchetta," started to play. Duo listened to the lyrics closely and then stole a glance at Heero. The other young man was gripping the steering wheel tightly and seemed to be lost in thought. Whether he was thinking about the song or not, Duo couldn't be certain.

The original story of the song was about a future where sport cars are illegal. The narrator's uncle keeps a red convertible hidden in the countryside. The narrator sneaks out there to take it for a drive and is intercepted by a "gleaming alloy car" that begins to chase him. Eventually it ends with the narrator making a narrow escape and returning to the hiding place.

Every time this song came on Duo couldn't help but think of Deathscythe and the other Gundams: beautiful, amazing technologies that had the ability to do so many wonderful and horrible things and were now banned from existence. He wished he could sneak off to the countryside and find his old suit again and take it for a joyride just one more time.

They pulled up to the station just as "Red Barchetta" ended. Heero parked and turned off the car before turning to Duo. "You don't have any weapons on you, right?"

Duo smiled. "Nah, but maybe you should frisk me just to make sure." Now that Duo knew that Heero wasn't involved with Relena anymore he didn't need to worry about stepping on anyone's else's toes. He reached out to grab Heero's arm and pulled him across the center console towards himself and kissed him. Heero didn't resist him at first but after a few seconds he pulled back and narrowed his eyes.

"Be professional," Heero said coldly before exiting the car. Duo couldn't help but smile. Typical Heero: focused on the task at hand, shenanigans later. He figured he would behave and go along with the program, especially since Heero was letting him play Preventer for the afternoon.

Duo exited the car, grabbed his crutches and hopped along after Heero and into the CPD HQ. A long, high desk greeted them with an assistant deputy hidden behind it. The man was young and a little too short to be standing behind such a formidable barrier. He peered over the top of it at them as they approached. Heero pulled his badge out from his jacket pocket and slid it across the top of the desk to the deputy who took it and inspected it casually before shoving it back at him. "How can I help you gentlemen?"

"I need to look at your records."

The assistant deputy seemed annoyed. Duo remembered dealing with plenty of local police departments as a Preventer and the result was always the same. They didn't like outside agencies poking their nose around their facility. He couldn't blame them for feeling that way. He would have hated some guy to show up and start rummaging around his desk questioning everything he did, too. The deputy pulled out a tablet and began tapping on it with a stylus before he handed it to Heero.

"Sign and date. Both you and your partner."

Duo watched Heero scribble his name onto the tablet before handing him the stylus. He did the same and resisted the urge to drop a joke about holy matrimony and courthouse weddings.

 _Professional, Duo. Stay professional_ , he mused as he followed the Japanese agent to a back room they had been told housed the protected directory servers. Heero sat down at the terminal and took out the flash drive, inserted it into the terminal's tower and began searching names on the folded piece of paper in his pocket. Duo leaned over his shoulder and watched as Heero started copying entire files on students he had seen around campus. Then a name and a mug shot illuminated the screen.

"Wait a minute. That's Professor Miles. What the hell?" Duo leaned in and squinted at the small print beneath the photo. It was a name Duo had never seen before. Aaron Bradcliffe. That wasn't his name. Or at least the name Duo knew the guy by. He was one of the lead Professors in the Undergraduate Science department. He didn't know much about him aside from that his computer seemed to get messed up quite a bit.

"You know him?" Heero asked over his shoulder as he started to copy the file.

"Not really, I've just seen him around. Wufei thinks he is behind the bombing? What about the guy who confessed?"

Heero shrugged. "He didn't elaborate much, but he thinks that the kid who confessed was paid off. He thinks that the real culprit has connections to Quatre. You said something before about feeling like Quatre was trying to indirectly communicate with you. We are trying to make connections before assumptions, but we should consider the fact that Quatre may be in danger and under threat."

Duo frowned. He had thought it was odd Quatre had given him the file about the suspect who admitted to the bombing. How did Quatre get a hold of that? Wouldn't that be police property? And why did he give it to Duo, and not the security team on the campus or even Heero, who was still the only active member of the Preventers. "So you are saying he wants us to figure this out, but he doesn't want to be connected to the real information coming out?"

Heero just nodded and finished copying the files on the list. Duo frowned. "Then why wouldn't he just have one of his guys deliver a package to us with the entire truth? Why doesn't he leave us an anonymous letter or something?"

Heero shrugged. "Maybe he doesn't know much else himself."

Duo leaned against the back of Heero's chair. "Yeah, I guess that would make sense. Someone could be blackmailing him, you think?"

Heero shrugged again and turned the terminal off. "Maybe. We won't know until we find the real bomber, and then work our way through that suspect's connections. Somehow Quatre is connected. Once we figure that out, then we can pinpoint the threat and hopefully find what I came here to investigate in the process."

Duo nodded and watched as Heero stood up and started moving toward the exit. "So where to now?" Duo asked as he crutched along behind him.

"District Twelve."

Part Two

By the time they reached the distant Twelfth District they had listened to the entire first side of "Leftoverture" by Kansas (AD1976) and Duo had noticed that Heero was starting to get into it. The former Wing pilot seemed to be upshifting the car with just a little more oomph than before and he could have sworn he saw him tapping the steering wheel at one point. It was nice to see Heero doing something relatively normal for once. He decided to take it upon himself to introduce Heero to more of the world beyond Preventer assignments and missions whenever he could.

Duo smiled and leaned his elbow against the top edge of the passenger door and rested his head in hand and looked out the window again. The landscape had changed significantly. District Twelve was the wealthiest district on the colony and it showed. The sidewalks were wider, the streets smoother and the foliage growing on the side of the road was fancier. Instead of short, nondescript bushes like the college neighborhood had this district had enormous rose bushes and elegant willow trees flanking the streets.

"So, what exactly are we supposed to be looking for here?" Duo asked, still unsure about why they had come. "I thought the scan of the bomb threat here came up with no leads."

Heero looked down at the map on his phone before glancing sideways at him. "We are going to interview a former student Wufei says was friends with the bomber."

"Eh? Former student? Like what… he graduated or something?"

"No, he was expelled for poor performance."

Duo blinked. Now this was getting interesting. "So, you think he may have wanted revenge against someone on the campus? A professor?" This line of reasoning was similar to his thoughts in the quad a few days before. Heero had shrugged a shoulder and was staring forward, studying the road with an intense stare. Duo realized that he was slipping into what he lovingly liked to call "Mission Mode." He started talking less and becoming more introverted with his thoughts. Duo sighed and leaned back into his seat and tugged at the top of his slacks. The wound on his leg was starting to swell and if he didn't get ice or some ibuprofen soon it was going to start hurting like hell.

"You should stay in the car," Heero said out of nowhere. Duo cursed himself. Clearly the Japanese agent had seen him adjust himself and had caught on to the status of his leg.

"Oh no you don't. Don't you try to treat me like I am some sort of invalid. No way. I'm coming." Duo said forcefully. Heero didn't reply. He guided the car into a neighborhood and parked on the street it in front of an enormous two-story home. Duo was in awe. The front lawn was cut perfectly even and the landscaping looked like something off of a home and garden magazine. It almost seemed like a model home. Duo had a hard time believing that someone actually lived there. Heero had gotten out of the car and walked around to open the passenger side door for him. Duo hopped up on his crutches and fell into step with the Japanese agent who led the way to the front door and knocked loudly. There was no response. He tried again and waited for a few minutes before looking over his shoulder at Duo.

"I am going to check the back."

"What?" Duo whispered. "Wait! You can't just-" Heero vanished around the side of the house.

Duo frowned. What did Heero think he was going to find around the back of the house? Duo looked up at the corner awnings and edges of the roof. There was no way this place didn't have a closed circuit camera system. Duo had broken into plenty of places to know better, and a house this luxurious wouldn't have skimped on security.

Duo waited. He shifted his weight and applied a little pressure to his injured leg. The muscle around his wound began to throb heavily. He hissed under his breath and alleviated the pressure a bit and looked around himself. He saw a button beside the door. It was clearly a doorbell. He frowned and without thinking pushed it. He heard a musical chime sound from inside the house and saw the just beyond the frosted glass that surrounded the front door start to blink on and off.

 _What the…_

He heard a rustle in the bushes next to him. Heero had materialized from them just as the door opened. A young man in his early twenties had opened the door. He was staring at them, clearly confused as to who they were. Heero took over and Duo just stood back and let him work.

"My name is Heero Yuy and I am an agent with the Preventers, an Earth-Sphere Investigation Organization." He began. The guy in the door started waving his hands around wildly in the air. He was poking himself on the top of the head and twitching his fingers quickly.

"Oh, I see." Heero said softly and then started waving his hands around in the air too. Duo blinked. What the heck were they doing? He watched them exchange a few flails before Heero turned to him. "He is deaf so we will need to use sign language."

Duo frowned. "I don't know sign language. Wait a minute, how do _you_ know sign language?"

Heero gestured something to the young man who nodded and opened the door and motioned for them to enter the house. Duo followed hesitantly.

"I taught myself in hospital when I lost my voice. It was more efficient than paper and pencil," Heero replied as they were guided through an enormous entryway and into a room to the right that served as a sitting area. The young man gestured for them to sit and then vanished through a rounded archway.

Duo hopped over to the clearly antique couch and lowered himself carefully onto it, feeling suddenly very left out again. Heero sat down next to him and was silent. Duo saw him searching the room, assessing his surroundings. He frowned.

"Don't worry, I'll translate for you." Heero said. Evidently Heero was a psychic and could read Duo's mind. Either that or Duo had ' _this fucking sucks'_ written across his face. The young man entered the room and had brought with him a small tray with three cups of coffee and a plate of shortbread cookies. Duo watched as Heero and the kid exchanged pleasantries, or what he assumed that was, and then went to town on the cookies. He wondered absently why rich people always served plain biscuits and snacks. They were rich enough to afford double chocolate chip cookies, so what was up dry shortbread?

"His name is Edward Pilazzo," Heero said as he was stoically gesturing back to the kid. Duo watched their conversation with interest as Heero moved his fingers and hands with expert precision. "He says he attended the college up until last year when failed out of his nuclear engineering program."

Duo's eyes widened. He looked over at the kid who was gesturing back to Heero with impassioned movements. Duo was surprised at how much emotion he could read in the language Edward was using as opposed to Heero's robotic conversation. Edward was using expressions, showing pain and frustration as his fingers danced in the air in front of him.

"He says he was romantically involved with another student, but then when they broke up he couldn't focus on his studies and failed." Heero was asking him a question. Duo had picked up on the gestures for "Who", "What", "Where" and "When" rather quickly considering Heero was using them quite a bit. He watched as Heero put his right thumb on his chin with his index finger extended and bent the finger twice. Edward had shifted in his seat and looked very uncomfortable before his fingers flexed and contorted out letters to spell a name.

"Naomi Cadance." Heero said aloud before continuing his questioning with his hands. Duo finished the last shortbread cookie and started sipping patiently at Heero's coffee since it was getting cold and Heero's hands were busy engaged in conversation in ASL. He couldn't let a good cup of coffee go to waste.

Finally Heero seemed to be wrapping things up. He and Edward both stood up and shook hands. Duo pulled himself up to a stand and groaned at the sudden burst of pain that had erupted in his thigh. Luckily only Heero heard him. The young man led them to the door, said his goodbyes and waved at Duo before closing the door on them. Duo grit his teeth and inched toward the car. His thigh was burning; the sensation had begun to sweep up his leg and into his groin.

"You're done for today," Heero said plainly as he stepped up beside him and slid an arm around his waist in attempt to take some of his body weight off of his leg. Duo was going to argue but knew he was right. He let Heero help him to the car and slumped heavily to a sit. He tried to elevate his leg as much as he could by propping his foot up on the dash. The classic car owner in him was screaming for him not to, but he really didn't have a choice.

"Naomi Cadance was one of the people they had scanned through the identity recognition software Quatre had developed. She also is a current student at the university and a resident of the dormitory that was involved in the bombing." Heero explained as Duo closed his eyes and braced himself in the seat as the occasional bump or dip in the road sent shockwaves through his leg. "Cadence is also the name of one of Quatre's main stockholders."

Duo was brought out of his anguish by that sudden fact. He looked over at Heero who had narrowed his eyes at the road, clearly searching the index of what Duo had always assumed was a photographic memory.

"No shit," Duo said as he braced his leg with his hands. "You want me to verify that when we get to the hotel?"

"No," Heero said plainly. Duo sucked his teeth, annoyed. "We need to change your dressing and I want you to elevate that leg. You may have an infection."

Duo rolled his eyes but didn't argue with him. Heero had years of experience with healing his own wounds and setting his own bones. The first time Duo had seen him do it he almost blew chunks. The guy had snapped his femur back in place, splinted it with a pair of wrenches and then hobbled off to repair his Gundam like it was nothing. If he was going to take advice from anyone about first aid it would be Heero.

They arrived at the hotel and made their way up to Duo's room. When he stepped inside Duo was immediately accosted by Milo. The cat was frantically meowing and rubbing around between his legs, obviously dismayed at being left alone for so long. Duo felt guilty, inched to the couch and sat down on it. He grabbed up the shaggy tabby and hugged him against his chest. Heero had moved into the kitchen and was rummaging around in the bag he had brought the food in the night before. He pulled out a roll of sterile bandage, cotton pads and an antibiotic cream. He heard him wash his hands before coming back.

"Lay down," Heero instructed. Duo frowned and reluctantly put the cat down and hopped over to the enormous bed. He dropped the slacks on the ground and carefully lowered himself to lie prone on the bed. Heero was unwrapping the sterile dressings and preparing to do the dressing change. He could feel his cool fingers pull the old bandage off and then felt him wipe away God knew what had built up on the stitches. "It doesn't look infected. You should keep it elevated for a while." Heero informed him as he worked with steady hands to change the dressing. He felt him circling his thigh with the bandage and then heard him leave the room and come back with a glass of water and an ibuprofen. He handed it to him and waited patiently while Duo took the pill. Finally he set the glass on the side table and went to sit at Duo's laptop and get back to work. Duo rested his head on his arms and watched him from the bedroom.

"Why don't you go back to school to be a surgeon?" Duo mumbled against his arms. He watched Heero dig into his pocket for the flash drive and open it on the laptop. He didn't reply. "You would be really good at it," Duo added. The Japanese agent shrugged and sighed. He didn't seem interested in talking about it. Duo yawned and buried his face into his arms. He heard a small meow from the head of the bed and felt Milo walk up to him on the mattress and curl up against his back.

He was exhausted and as much as he wanted to stay awake and help Heero he couldn't fight the lull of sleep. He closed his eyes and let his mind gradually power down.

Part Three

Duo was awakened by a rhythmic clicking sound. He opened his eyes and saw Heero sitting in the dark on the couch typing away at his laptop.

 _Still working. He must be on to something,_ Duo thought as he watched Heero's tense features working diligently in the dark. He watched as Heero finished typing, closed the laptop and got up to grab the car keys off of the kitchen counter.

"Hey," Duo heard his own voice cracking with exhaustion. "Where you going?"

"I'm going to serve a warrant." Heero was approaching the bedroom slowly, fully dressed with the keys clutched in his hand. The statement snapped Duo into full consciousness.

"Warrant?"

"For Leonard Cadence, the largest stock investor in the Winner Corporation." Heero explained flatly.

 _Mission mode_ , Duo thought with a small smile. "Let me come with you?"

"No."

"It was worth a try."

\\\ Author's Note : Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas, everyone! Thank you very much for all of the kind comments and reviews. I'm glad that so many people are enjoying my interpretation of Duo and Heero's relationship. I actually don't read much fan fiction myself, so what you see is purely my own head canon of how these characters would interact. I first saw the show in 2001 when I was in high school and had found my first fan fiction for this series online. It was definitely nothing like the characterizations here. I also read a lot of doujinshi with these characters and found myself really upset with how these characters were portrayed. It just wasn't how I saw them when I enjoyed the series and the official manga. I have always loved the idea of romantic friendships and having the pilots share bonds and trusts with one another that are realistic and believable. I don't believe in omitting female characters from the canon because I feel they are important influences. By writing this fic I am attempting to tell a story about a conspiracy plot, but in the process I wanted people to experience the Duo/Heero relationship how I myself have always interpreted it. The series itself is actually very vague in regards to character relationships, which is what makes it a fun series to write fiction for. Everyone's interpretation is different. I hope mine does the characters as much justice as it can, and I am happy that you have come along for the ride! Thanks again, and enjoy. \\\


	15. Chapter 15

Part One

It had been six hours since Heero had left to serve the warrant to the Winner Corporation investor. Duo was bored out of his mind. He had slept as much as he could, showered and dressed, ordered pizza, and had poked around on his laptop. Heero had left the flash drive in the port so he found himself fishing through the files looking for connections. Most of the people were just random students with parking infractions or they had committed low-level crimes in their adolescence.

Duo grinned as he flipped through some of the descriptions: stealing, truancy, runaway reports.

 _Hell, when I was fifteen I was committing heinous war crimes_ , Duo thought as he clicked through the files. He recalled the attack on the United Earth-Sphere Alliance New Edwards Base. It had been one of the first missions that Duo and Heero had coordinated on, and it was possibly one of the worst slaughters in their joined battle history. They had wiped out hundreds of Leos by the end of that campaign. Heero had mistakenly killed an entire shuttle of Pacifists who had, unbeknownst to them, were there to work on a peace deal. The whole thing has been a setup by the OZ organization.

 _Now that I think about it that was the first time I fought alongside Trowa, Quatre and Wufei._ He smiled as the memory played out across his thoughts. Milo was purring loudly on his lap. He stroked the cat gently between his ears. He remembered how Wufei had shown up and lectured them on how foolish they were, and he recalled Quatre's childlike voice coming over the COM pleading with him and Trowa to stop fighting each other.

 _Heero had saved everyone_ , Duo recalled. _He really is amazing_. The base had been set up to explode and there was no escape. They wouldn't have been able to make it out in time, and the blast radius would have wiped out every soldier who was stationed there as well as the surrounding city of Sacremento. Heero had saved everyone by quickly finding and diffusing the missiles.

He glanced down at his watch and sighed. There was no way it would take over six hours to deliver a warrant. Duo figured Heero was probably out doing more investigation on his own. He looked at the Preventer jacket Heero had loaned him. He had draped it over the back of a lounge chair by the desk. He felt a warmth begin to stir in his chest.

He knew he would never be able to go back to the Preventers. He didn't really want to. However, it wasn't the Preventers held had held meaning for him. Sure, they were the strong hand that guided mankind towards peace. They were the ones who ensured that everyone was following the new rules and continued to do the dirty work that other people had sworn they would leave behind. The Preventers were important, but they weren't important to Duo. The jacket represented the partnership he had had with Heero. When he had been terminated from the Preventers he had felt like they had severed the last string that bound them together. When Heero had given him this jacket, even to wear for only a short time, he had given Duo permission to be his partner again, and that meant more to him than anything.

Duo smiled despite himself. He was really lucky to have so much in his life, especially when he had come from nothing. He would do everything anything to protect his friends.

He decided to message Hilde and see what she was up to. He received a video call shortly after he sent it. He opened it and Hilde's fluffy head filled the monitor.

" **DUO MAXWELL WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL ME?"**

"Eh? I just messaged you!"

" **You know exactly what I mean! I heard you got shot!"**

"Now where did you hear that?"

" **Chang! The only person with some sense on that damn colony."**

"Well, he ruined my surprise."

" **That isn't funny."**

"Okay-okay, sorry. Yeah, I got shot. In the leg, nothing serious."

" **It is because you are working with Heero on a case, isn't it?"**

Duo frowned. Hilde wasn't wrong about that, but he felt like he should defend himself.

"Hey, listen. It could have been anything. It could have been someone from the bombing, it coulda been a drive by, it coulda been something about Heero. It is whatever. I am fine, seriously…"

She didn't look convinced. He saw her dark, angular eyebrow twitch and he knew she was holding back a lecture of epic proportions. After a long moment she seemed to swallow that lecture and was trying to move on.

" **Well, anyway, get well soon, okay? And stop getting shot. I told you before, you owe me a vacation."**

Duo couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, I know. I won't die, I promise."

" **Good. So anyway, I am here in the Pacific with Howard."** She turned the camera to Howard who was standing on the deck of a ship in blinding sunshine. He had a push broom in one hand and was leaning on it. He still had his crazy sunglasses and trademark loud Hawaiian shirt. **"Oi, Duo! Come and see me sometime!"**

Duo smiled and waved into the camera. "Hey, man! Looking good!"

Howard grinned from ear to ear. **"Yeah, Hilde can't keep her hands off me."** Duo heard Hilde yell 'ew' from the opposite side of the camera. He laughed again and watched as she struggled to turn the camera around. Her embarrassed face filled the monitor.

" **So not my type,"** Hilde said with a scowl.

"Really? I used to be your type. Think of Howard as an old version of me. We are cut from the same cloth after all."

" **Stop trying to get me to fuck Howard!"** Duo heard Howard catcall from somewhere in the background. **"I hate you both."**

Duo couldn't stop laughing. It felt nice to laugh like this, and he suddenly missed Hilde desperately. Despite how their relationship had dissolved he always felt that they were compatible. She had an energy and spirit that drew him like a moth to a flame. They spoke for a while longer about business and what her plans were for the rest of the week before they said their goodbyes and disconnected.

He checked the time. It was still relatively early, only about one in the afternoon. Heero had left sometime around 0700. Duo frowned and remembered he didn't have his phone. He felt strangely isolated without it. He messaged Wufei and asked him how the investigation was going. Wufei was normally pretty quick to reply but even he wasn't answering. Esme was off for the weekend, so he wouldn't bother her with work related stuff until Monday.

He got up and hopped over to the kitchen and retrieved the file folder Quatre had given him and went back to spread its contents out on the coffee table. He sat on the couch and looked over the information again. Everything just seemed so disjointed, and nothing made any sense. He grabbed the complimentary pen and paper from the desk and began writing down names and trying to connect them to one another.

 _So let's see… bomb threat happens the day before and it comes from Distric Twelve. They scan the faces of the people in that area and Naomi Cadence is a hit. Her dad is a main stockholder for Winner Corporation. She was dating the deaf kid who was learning to work on nukes._

He drew arrows between Naomi and Edward, the kid from District Twelve.

 _The kid who admitted to the bombing was Ira Tull, from District Four. Bio-Chem student. Nineteen. So he would be an underclassman to Naomi and Edward. He read through the statements Ira's distraught parents had made. They were, of course, shocked and denied any knowledge that he could ever be capable of doing this. According to them he had great grades and had gotten into the school on an academic scholarship. He was a "good boy". Okay, so… what does Ira have to do with Naomi or Edward. Naomi was a nuclear physics student, and so was Edward. They didn't even have classes in the same building. Ira's classes were in the basement of the Language Arts building, right? So how are they connected?_

Duo had grabbed the laptop and was tabbing through the files on it.

 _Ira has no previous record. Edward has a driving ticket. Naomi has no record. What about that teacher I saw on here…_

He searched for the record of the man with two names he had seen in the CPD HQ. He found it and scanned over it carefully.

 _Professor Miles. His real name, Aaron Bradcliffe. He works with the undergrad science students so he would know Ira Tull, the kid who admitted to the bombing. His crimes… are forgery, possession of banned substances, and something called "aversion"._

Duo frowned. He had never seen any phrase like that on a record, and had no idea what that meant. He rubbed his forehead and stared down at the man's face. There was something here; he just couldn't put his finger on it.

 _Let's see about this Leonard Cadence._ He logged onto the Internet and did a basic search for the man. He owned a wide variety of companies throughout the Earth-Sphere: food processing companies, stock in a variety of banking and real estate firms at the L1 colony cluster. Duo found the information about the Winner Corporation. The stock information had been made public a few years ago. As of two years ago the guy owned sixty-percent of Winner Corporation's stock.

Duo felt a chill come over his body. He stared down at the numbers and realized with great clarity exactly why Heero had gotten a warrant out for the guy.

 _Oh fuck. He is the one Quatre wanted us to investigate._ Duo's mind immediately replayed the latest colony current events. Hilde had mentioned that L2 was riddled with protests against L1, which had recently had a scandal involving mobile suits and weapon's technologies that were illegal and against the treaties signed between the Colonies and Earth. Another hard fact landed on his mind.

 _Leonard Cadence was the one who wanted to kill me. Someone must have seen Quatre give me something and he wanted to stop me. Unless…_

Duo's mind was racing. He felt his heart banging against his rib cage. _Unless he thought I was Heero. Maybe he knew the Preventers were on to him and somehow his hit men took out the wrong Gundam pilot._

Which meant that wherever Heero was, he was in danger. He was walking right into the belly of the beast. Duo wasn't sure if Heero knew that part or not, but even still he cursed himself for not going with him.

 _Six hours is too long for a warrant._ Duo started to feel panic welling up inside him. He immediately opened a connection through a message service to Wufei and began hailing him. Finally after what felt like an eternity Chang's face filled the monitor.

"Fei! Listen, have you seen Heero?"

Wufei frowned. **"No, I thought he was with you."**

"Shit. Listen, he went to serve a warrant to Leonard Cadence. I think he is the guy who is behind the illegal shipments here to X-18999. He is one of Quatre's stockholders and I think Quatre knows that something isn't right with him. He has connections with L1. I think that guy was the one who wanted me dead, or didn't want me to figure this shit out."

Wufei was nodding solemnly. **"Where are you?"**

"At the hotel, but I am about to leave. I gotta find Heero. I don't have a good feeling about any this."

" **Okay, send me everything you have and I will forward it to Quatre. I will call the CPD and see if Yuy contacted them about the warrant and if he took any of their officers with him and I will call you back-"**

"I don't have a phone," Duo reminded him, feeling irritated that he didn't just go buy another one by now.

" **Then stay there until I get verification."**

Duo scowled. "Okay, but be quick about it." The connection broke and Duo was stuck staring at a black screen. He felt anxious but there was nothing he could do about it until Wufei called him back. He hopped over to the bedroom and started getting dressed. He went to put on his civilian clothes but saw the Preventer uniform out of the corner of his eye. He knew he shouldn't wear it without Heero around. He would be impersonating an officer, but he knew that if he needed to work with the CPD they would take him more seriously if he were wearing it. He pulled on a pair of navy slacks and a plain black t-shirt and tugged the jacket over his shoulders. He slid on his boots and returned to the laptop and waited anxiously for Wufei to call him back.

His stomach was in knots by the time it rang. He answered it and immediately knew what happened by the solemn expression on Wufei's face.

" **Duo. Listen. I need you to be calm for a minute…"**

"Where is he, Fei?"

" **District Eight Medical Center. I will come get you."**

"No, meet me there." Duo shut the laptop, grabbed his crutches and bolted out the door.

Part Two

The taxi ride to the hospital had been excruciating. It took everything in him not to scream at the stopped cars in front of them. If Duo didn't have a fucked up leg he would have just ran over there, but he knew he couldn't risk doing that at a time like this. Finally the taxi rolled up to the hospital and he threw his credit card at the guy, left his crutches in the back seat and jumped out. His thigh was burning as he rushed through the automatic doors. A woman at the reception desk in the lobby looked up at him with a smile.

"How may I help you?"

"I am looking for Yuy, Heero." He stood as straight as he could, hoping that the Preventer uniform would impress her enough for her not to question him.

"Oh, I see… he is in ICU right now, mister…?"

"Maxwell. He is my partner. What floor?"

"I'm sorry but-"

"M'am, this is official Preventer Agency business. I gotta see my partner."

The woman seemed skeptical but a line was forming behind him and she finally conceded defeat. "Fifth floor, room one-oh-nine. Wait! You need a name tag!"

Duo ran down the hallway, feeling his leg threaten to give out from under him with every stride. He jumped in the elevator, pounded the button for the fifth floor and waited impatiently for it to rise. Once the door opened he shoved his way past a nurse pushing a man in a wheelchair and looked for the room. The ICU rooms were spread out far apart, surrounding a central nurse's station. Finally he found room 109 and noticed a figure standing in the doorway with a cart. He stopped short before running straight into the nurse who was exiting the room.

"Oh, hello." The nurse, an older woman with flaming red hair, smiled kindly at him.

"Uh, hi." Duo tried to inch past her but she raised an arm to bar his path.

"I'm sorry, this young man can't have any guests at this time."

Duo was nearly breathless. He looked over her shoulder and saw a figure in the room laid out on a hospital bed, covered in tubes and wires. He tried to push past her but she held firm.

"Sir, please. You can't go in there right now-"

Duo was yanked backwards by a set of hands. Two CPD officers were standing behind him, one with a cup of coffee in his hand and the other with her hands on his shoulders yanking him back from the door.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

"What happened to him?" Duo said breathlessly as the CPD officer who had snatched him backwards was pulling him down the hallway.

"Oh, you must be the partner he was talking about." The second officer with the coffee cup said. "Come sit down." He pulled out a chair in the waiting area beside the nurse's station as the female officer shoved him into it.

"Tell me what's wrong with him," Duo was trying his best to stay calm. He heard Heero's voice in his head from the day before. _Be professional…_

The female officer took a seat opposite to him and leaned down heavily against the table. "Agent Yuy and a couple of our men were attacked this morning."

Duo frowned. He started tapping his fingers anxiously on the table.

"They had received a warrant for the arrest of a suspect in weapon's trading, and so he asked for two of our officers to go with him to serve it. On their way to the suspect's home-"

"Leonard Cadence, right?" Duo cut her off. She nodded.

"They were just entering the Twelfth District when two white cars collided with the squad car. They were ambushed from both sides. One of our officers died. The other is in critical condition, but I am afraid your partner got seriously hurt in the exchange." The male officer said calmly, his eyes reflecting sympathy for Duo's situation. Duo knew that other law enforcement could understand the horror of losing a partner in the line of duty. He frowned and drummed his fingers harder on the table.

"So is he gonna be okay?"

The female officer exchanged a hesitant glance with the male officer before turning to look at Duo with a sympathetic and sad expression. "They don't know."

"I need to see him."

The male officer shook his head. "They aren't letting anyone in the room."

"No, you guys don't understand. I gotta see him." Duo jumped up from his seat and started to limp toward Heero's room. He could hear the officers protesting behind him and the scoot of their chairs as they jumped up to chase him. He was just halfway down the hallway when he spotted a familiar figure approaching the hospital room beside a tall, thin man in a lab coat.

"Duo," Wufei said when their eyes met. Duo bit his lip and looked at the man in the lab coat, clearly a medical professional.

"Is he gonna be okay, or what?" Duo demanded.

"It's okay," Wufei said to the man in the lab coat who seemed alarmed at Duo's sudden aggressive approach. "He's his partner."

The man in the coat nodded and stepped aside. Wufei grabbed Duo by the arm and led him into the hospital room and closed the door behind them.

The room was dimly lit with only a single muted light illuminated over the head of the bed. Duo felt his legs trembling as he took staggering steps to the bedside and looked down at the husk of a human that lie upon it. He took a shallow breath and felt suddenly weak. Wufei had grabbed his shoulder and was squeezing it firmly, as if holding him back from submerging himself in sheer anguish and panic.

"Is he alive?" He managed to mutter as he stared down at the cords and wires woven like a protective blanket across Heero's bruised and scraped flesh. Through the clear oxygen mask Duo saw that the Japanese agent's lip was split. His bruised eyes were closed.

"Yes." Wufei answered plainly. "I was just talking to a neurologist outside. He said they wouldn't know how much damage has actually been done until the swelling on his brain goes down.

Duo felt tears stinging his eyes. He had never seen Heero this badly injured before. He had seen him knocked unconscious, but never to this extent. His shoulders began to shake. He felt Wufei's hand slide from his shoulder to rest in the center of his back.

"Come on, Duo. There isn't anything you can do right now-"

"No. Not yet."

"Duo," Wufei was frowning. Duo knew he was being ridiculous but something in him couldn't move. It was as if he needed time to process.

"Just… let me stay for a few more minutes, okay?"

Wufei nodded and pulled up a chair to the bedside. Duo dropped heavily into it and noticed as he did a puddle of bright red blood had begun to gather under his boot. Wufei had noticed it too, but didn't say anything. Instead he quietly left the room. Duo heard him talking to someone just outside the door.

He reached up to grab Heero's hand carefully. It was cool to the touch and his fingers were slightly bent and difficult to flex. He had bruises on his knuckles and a scrape on his palm, clear indicators that he had been able to fight back.

"You can't die right now, Heero." He said softly as he gently turned the Japanese pilot's hand over in his own. He felt the tears he had been stricken with at the sight of his friend debilitated finally break loose and fall down his cheeks. "Shit. See, making me cry again." He sniffed loudly and leaned down to press his wet cheek against Heero's cold hand. He lie that way for a long time, his mind racing.

"I'm gonna get that son of a bitch," Duo whispered against Heero's scuffed hand. "I'm gonna fucking kill him." He felt anger beginning to stoke in his stomach, red hot and burning up his torso. He grasped Heero's hand firmly and sat up. He looked at the heart monitor and the various readouts printing off on a table on the opposite side of the bed. Duo didn't know much about brain damage and medical stuff, but as far as he could see Heero was breathing on his own. He was only receiving oxygen through a mask over his face, and he wasn't intubated like other people he had seen in the ICU.

He heard the door open behind him. He turned quickly, expecting the cops to be there to drag him out but instead saw the redheaded nurse enter the room with a tray of medications. She walked across the room silently and began setting up her task on the table on the opposite side of the bed.

"Can he hear me?" Duo asked her as she started preparing to inject something with a syringe into Heero's I.V. bag. The woman looked up and smiled at him.

"Nobody really knows if people who come in like this can hear, but I have had patients tell me that they could hear everything when they were unconscious. It couldn't hurt to talk to him." She began the injection and then wrote something down on a piece of paper. Duo frowned and looked back down at the Japanese pilot and for once in his life he didn't know what to say.

"You've seen a lot of people come in like this, right? Is he really bad?" Duo didn't know how to ask that question. He felt childish, but he had no frame of reference when it came to these things. The nurse was preparing another IV. She shrugged and looked over at him with a grin.

"Do you want to try something? The doctors all think I am crazy but I really do think this works."

Duo wasted no time in replying. "Yeah, sure. What?"

The woman finished administering her medications and set them aside. She approached the side of the bed and looked down at Heero and gently brushed his hair away from his closed eyes.

"Well, when I first became a nurse my old instructor used to tell me that patients with brain damage may not always have consciousness but that their unconscious is part of their soul, and that it never can be damaged. For instance, children who are injured and unconscious they will often automatically react to the sound of their mother's voice. In my experience these reactions indicate that eventually, given time, that person will wake up."

Duo was leaning on the bed, intrigued. "So what do I have to do?"

"Well, sometimes it is just a familiar touch. Sometimes a familiar smell or taste. Say something to him he would recognize and remember. Sing a song he would remember. If his unconscious recognizes it, you will see his heart skip a beat."

The woman smiled and began gathering her things. "Try a few things and see what works." She left the room. Duo stared down at Heero.

 _That lady is crazy,_ he decided. _There's no way that could work._

But the thought was still nagging him. He couldn't bring himself to take a step away from the bed. Despite how insane the woman's suggestion was he couldn't leave the room without trying it.

What was something that Heero would remember? Something that would make him unconsciously react? He had grabbed his hand and held it but nothing had happened. Duo reached down anyway to touch it again and stared at the monitor. Heero's heart rate remained unchanged: a steady and even blip on the screen.

He sat for a long time listening to the heart monitor beeping before an idea hit him. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure nobody was in the room and cleared his throat.

Back during the Eve War he had spent a lot of time traveling through space with Heero on shuttles and through the colonies and for fun Duo used to sing songs about space to pass the time. Heero used to hate it, or at least he would try to avoid him when he did it. It had become a game between them. Whenever they were just floating in the silence of space he would try to startle him with a song.

He wasn't sure if it would work, but he decided he would give it a shot. He recalled a particularly obnoxious one that he had used many times before. It always made Heero groan or threaten to kill him.

"Whenever life gets you down, Mrs. Brown,  
And things seem hard or tough,  
And people are stupid, obnoxious or daft,

And you feel that you've had quite eno-o-o-o-o-ough,

Just remember that you're standing on a planet that's evolving  
And revolving at 900 miles an hour.  
It's orbiting at 19 miles a second, so it's reckoned,  
The sun that is the source of all our power.

Now the sun, and you and me, and all the stars that we can see,  
Are moving at a million miles a day,  
In the outer spiral arm, at 40,000 miles an hour,  
Of a galaxy we call the Milky Way."

Duo nearly jumped out of his skin as he felt Heero's finger twitch against his hand and saw a jagged line had formed on the previously steady zigzag of the heart monitor. _Thank you, Monty Python!_

"Heero! Man, you can hear me! Don't worry buddy. You're gonna be okay." He squeezed Heero's hand firmly and couldn't help but laugh. "I'm gonna get that motherfucker. Don't worry. You just stay here and get better, okay?"

The door behind him opened.

"Time's up." Wufei said from the doorway. Duo set Heero's hand down gently and spun around to march out of the hospital room with grin, leaving a trail of blood behind him. Wufei gave him a questioning look.

"He's gonna be fine. Let's go find this Cadence guy and make him pay."

/Author's Note: This part is dedicated to my good friend Fei Chang Harahus, who used to sing "The Galaxy Song" to me in the car whenever we were stuck in traffic, and always made my day with it./


	16. Chapter 16

Part One

Duo hadn't wanted to waste time changing his bandages but Wufei had insisted. A nurse was tending his now very irritated surgical wound while the Chinese man stood in the doorway of the private room on the phone with Quatre.

"I really wish you would have just told us all of this directly," Duo overheard Wufei say on the phone. "I understand, but there is a lot more risk to this case then we had originally thought… yes… okay. We can meet her at the spaceport."

Duo winced as the nurse pulled the bandage tightly across his thigh. "The doctor gave me an order to start you on an antibiotic to reduce the spread of your localized infection," she was saying as she secured his bandaged.

"Yeah, sure." Duo said absently as he watched Wufei hang up the phone and turn to him.

"Pick up who?"

"Agent Po. She is en route to the colony. Apparently Heero had called her last night." Duo nodded. Sally Po had been their supervisor in the Preventers when he worked there. He had been angry with her at the time of his termination. She was definitely a by the books officer. Her military background had made her unyielding in her convictions. She and Noin had been two of the first former military officers to join the Preventers and had worked to establish the basis and ground rules of the organization. Duo knew that Wufei and Sally had a thing going when Wufei was a member of Preventers. The Chinese former agent always refused to talk about it, but Duo had a feeling had been more than just a professional work relationship.

Wufei wasn't showing any emotions about it at the moment. The nurse had finished tending Duo's leg and had handed him two giant pills and a paper cup of water. He swallowed them with the water and tossed the cup in the trash, thanked her and tried to stand up. His thigh was killing him. The nurse tried to hand him crutches but he frowned and shook his head.

"Don't you guys have something less cumbersome?" He asked. She frowned and looked over at Wufei for assistance. "Like… a walking stick or something?"

"That isn't going to be enough support," the nurse protested to Wufei, who just shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Duo, honestly-"

"Get me a cane. Something. A broom. Anything else, those damn crutches just hold me back."

The nurse sighed deeply and got up to depart the room. She came back shortly with a black walking stick. She handed it to him hesitantly. Duo stood up and leaned on it with his left arm. It wasn't as good as a crutch as far as keeping the weight off, but it helped more than just freestanding. He nodded.

"This is good, thanks." _Besides_ , he thought with a grin, _I can use this thing as a weapon._ He spun it experimentally before taking a few steps toward Wufei with it. "Okay, I'm good. Can we go now?"

Part Two

Wufei had driven them to the spaceport in his personal car, a small and economic Korean import. When they drove up to the arrival terminal Agent Sally Po was standing on the sidewalk. She waved and smiled as they approached. Duo looked over at Wufei to gauge his reaction but there was none. He just pulled the car up to the sidewalk and got out to help her with her luggage. Duo got out as well and dumped himself into the back seat. Sally tried to protest but he waved his hand and dismissed it.

"Ladies up front," Duo had said cheerily. He saw Wufei's eyebrow twitch. He propped his injured leg up across the seat and leaned against the door. Wufei and Sally loaded up in the front seat and soon they were off in the direction of District Twelve.

"It has been a while, Duo. How are you?" Sally asked conversationally. Duo sighed.

"Eh, just been working. Getting shot. Helping Preventer investigations and not getting paid," he said bitterly, though with an ironic chuckle. "You?"

"I heard about your attack. Heero told me everything. I am sorry you got caught up in the middle of this," she said. Duo frowned.

"I'm not. Clearly you guys need my help."

"Duo, I don't make the rules. I wish you would stop punishing me for it."

Duo scowled and crossed his arms tightly across his chest. "Yeah, well, rules and real life don't always mix, do they? Heero followed your rules, and look what happened to him."

He felt bitterness curdling in his throat. He could see Wufei cutting his eyes at him. At this point he didn't care. It wasn't that he didn't like Sally personally. She had been nothing but nice to him, but if she wanted to talk about it he wasn't going to hold back.

"Heero respects the Preventer's mission." Sally said plainly. "Every mission always comes with risk."

"Yeah, well, the funny thing about rules is that the bad guy doesn't always play by the same ones, do they? I guess this guy must have lost the memo you sent him asking him not to kill your agent and play nice, right?"

"We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard, otherwise there can be no progress for peace." Sally recited the Preventer's party line like a pro. "We have to set an example for the future."

Wufei looked tense as he drove them toward the Twelfth District. Duo was irritated but bit his tongue and just stared out the window. There was no arguing with Sally Po. She had drunk the kool-aid Relena had been handing out for far too long.

Duo knew pacifism didn't work. He watched an entire church full of people he loves perish because they wouldn't lift a finger against others. They had tried to set an example for peace, too, and look where that got them. As far as he was concerned human beings were fucked up, and as long as people existed they would squabble over something. Someone will always have a bigger stick than you, and that person would never hesitate to use it.

"I know you are still mad at me, but I really am happy to see you, Duo. I always am." Sally said kindly. Duo felt some of his annoyance lift from his shoulders. He sighed and let the tension out of his arms a little.

"Yeah, nice to see you too." He was surprised she hadn't made a comment about him wearing the Preventer jacket Heero had given him. Given she was such a strict follower of regulation he had expected her to make him take it off. Duo pulled the jacket closed against his chest and dropped his nose into the collar. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. It smelled faintly of the Japanese pilot, the tangy metallic scent that reminded Duo of Gundanium, blood and the bitter coldness of space.

Duo had decided he wouldn't take the jacket off until this was all over, until this Preventer assignment was closed. Heero couldn't finish this, so he was going to finish it for him.

Part Three

When they had arrived at the Cadence Estate in District Twelve they were greeted by a long row of colony police squad cars. There were even a few officers in riot gear, which Duo thought was a nice touch. If the man didn't come quietly the CPD was ready.

Sally had taken the reigns of this assignment. She had approached a CPD Lieutenant and was working out the logistics with him. Duo stood by Wufei's car and watched. Wufei was standing beside him with his arms crossed over his chest, waiting patiently, his dark eyes following Sally as she flitted from one group of officers to another giving them orders.

"You happy to see her?" Duo asked him as they watched Sally walk up the main sidewalk to the estate flanked by five armed officers. Wufei sighed heavily and looked over at him with narrowed eyes.

"Do you enjoy making me miserable?"

Duo grinned and poked Wufei in the side. "Heh heh heh, you _are_ happy to see her, aren't you?"

Wufei had grit his teeth and his jawline was tense. He turned back to watch as Sally knocked on the door, clutching the paper warrant in her hand.

"After this blows over you should take her out to dinner or something."

"Duo-"

Duo had expected Wufei to go into a long tirade about how he should stay out of his personal business when a loud rumbling sound drowned the Chinese man's voice out. The ground beneath their feet began to vibrate. Duo braced himself with his cane and leaned back against the car as the sidewalk beneath his feet began to flex. Duo looked up just as the officers and Sally were stepping back from the door. The officers on the sidewalk beside them were training their weapons on the surrounding estate, looking frantically for the source of the shaking.

Suddenly a hidden loudspeaker from the colony's emergency alert system sounded from somewhere overhead. "ALERT. ALERT. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. OUTER HABITAT WALL BREACH. OUTER HABITAT WALL BREACH. PLEASE SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. REPEAT, OUTER WALL BREACH. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER."

Duo felt his hair shift as a sudden wind began to pick up. The officers began to scatter and run for their cars. Sally was jogging toward them. Wufei opened the front passenger door for her. Duo hopped in the back seat and looked out the window. The colony's ambient lighting was dimming. He could see the trees swaying and shifting as if caught in a stormy gale.

The ground was shaking fiercely now. Duo could see the sidewalk shifting as if it were floating like a hard crust over turbulent water.

"We need to get to an emergency shelter," Wufei said calmly. He pulled off down the street. Duo looked out the window and saw movement from behind the estate. He could see a helicopter lifting off from somewhere beyond the massive house.

"He's getting away! Chang, stop the car!"

Duo saw Sally turn around in her seat and heard her curse under her breath. "The fact that he is avoiding arrest shows how guilty he is," she said angrily.

Wufei continued to drive down the street, followed by the other CPD squad cars. "Let him go, he can't go very far with a system breach," he reasoned as he pulled into the parking lot of a nearby school. They all tumbled out of the car and joined a large crowd of people who lived nearby who were trying to enter the designated shelter of the school gymnasium.

Volunteers were standing at the door handing them belts as they entered. Duo took his and hobbled quickly to an opening on a guardrail that had been cemented into the wall of the gym. Colony citizens were packed along the railing shoulder to shoulder, fastening their belts and hooking the attached lines to the steel railing. The ground was continuing to shake. Sally had hitched on beside him but Wufei was a couple of people behind them. Duo could make out his voice over the din of panicked people as he barked instructions to the panicked colonists.

The sound of the wind outside of the gymnasium was growing from a faint whistle to a grumbling roar. The floor of the gym was vibrating so hard Duo felt his teeth involuntarily chattering. Sally was holding her radio against her ear as she strained to listen in to the police broadcast over the cries of the colonists who were bracing themselves along the rail. High-pitched alarms were sounding from outside as the colony's emergency system was belting out warnings for the colonists to take cover. Duo groaned and leaned against the tremulous wall and held tightly to the railing. He wondered what had breached the outer wall. Were they under attack? Had it been a construction accident or an intentional detonation?

Sally had leaned over to rest her chin on his shoulder and spoke loudly into his ear. "Someone flew a shuttle full throttle into the side of the colony. They are having trouble with the automatic recovery system."

Duo grunted as the colony jolted hard to one side. The people in the gym were screaming and yelling as the sudden force tossed them. Luckily everyone had attached themselves to the emergency railing. Duo looked across the gymnasium at a family of colonists who were clinging to the bar. Suddenly he felt very light. The interruption of the spin of the colony had made the gravity decrease. He felt his braid lifting off of his back to float up into the air. People were starting to dangle at the end of their tethers, frantically grasping one another to try and right themselves.

The building around them groaned. The ground jolted again. Duo knew the gravity correction engines were trying to recover and set the colony back into proper motion. The process was loud and violent. Colonists who had been floating off of the ground were suddenly dropped to the gym floor as the colony recovered its spin. He felt his own legs bang into the bar, but luckily he landed on his feet. His stomach was in his throat as a result of the sudden change of gravity. Gradually everything started to stabilize. The sensation of the recovering gravity clinging to his feet increased and the loud roaring sound of the wind outside started to diminish. Duo unclipped his tether and looked over at Sally who was doing the same. Wufei appeared over her shoulder.

"We need to regroup," Sally hollered over the yells of the colonists. Wufei nodded and led them outside. Their car was still there but wedged against another car, having apparently been tossed during the loss of gravity. Wufei pried open the passenger door and climbed into the driver's seat. He managed to start it and free it so Duo and Sally could get in.

Sally's phone rang as they were driving towards the CPD HQ. "Okay, yes. We will be there shortly." She hung up and looked over her shoulder at Duo. "Looks like we are going back to the hospital. Heero's awake."

Part Three

Duo was shocked to see a huge crowd of men in suits standing just outside of Heero's ICU room. They were all wearing matching dark blue suits and earpieces. They looked like secret service protection agents. Sally had led them up the stairs, since the elevator had been damaged during the gravity disruption. She gestured for Duo and Wufei to stay back as she approached the men and spoke to them.

"What's she doing here?" Duo heard Wufei mutter under his breath.

"Who?"

Wufei tilted his head to the right towards the waiting area beside the nurse's station. Duo saw a lithe, black-clad figure seated at one of the tables sipping water from a bottle. Long, straight blond hair fell over her shoulders and spilled over the back of the chair.

"Dorothy." Duo said loudly. "What the fuck? Wait a minute…" Duo tensed and looked back at the throng of men standing in front of the door talking with Sally. Realization dropped on him like a ton of bricks.

"Relena is here."

Sally had come back from talking to the men at the door. She told him what he had already figured out, that the men were Relena's personal bodyguards and she had been called to X-18999 by the hospital to make Heero's medical decisions. Heero had listed Relena as his medical contact and care manager. He had woken just before the colony had been attacked and was now conscious but still in rough shape.

"Let me go first. Heero needs to brief me on what happened, and then I will come and get you." Sally said evenly. Duo bristled and wanted to protest but knew there was no use. He stood awkwardly in the hallway as Sally turned and vanished past Relena's thugs and into the room. Duo saw that Dorothy had turned in her seat and was watching them with interest. He heard Wufei sigh before walking confidently over to take a seat at her table. Duo followed reluctantly.

"Well, finally you two show up." Dorothy said with a grin. "He was asking for you," she added with an elegant wave of her hand at Duo. Duo stiffened. Anger began to bubble forth in his chest. His heart started to race.

"I can't believe you came here," Duo sneered. "The guy had to come out of a coma and see you? How fucked up can you be?"

Dorothy frowned. "At least we were here when he woke up. It was actually really inspiring. Miss Relena just needed to kiss him, and just like in the legend of Sleeping Beauty his eyes opened and he miraculously regained consciousness."

Duo scowled as Dorothy crossed her long, bare legs and adjusted her formfitting black pencil skirt. "Do I sense a hint of jealousy in you, Mister Maxwell? Don't be. Miss Relena and Heero have a bond you couldn't possibly understand."

Duo just wanted to smack the smugness from her face but thought better of it. He couldn't let Dorothy get to him. Not right now, not when everything was so chaotic. He had too much to do, and a mission to complete for Heero. He bit back his annoyance and gave her his most charming smile.

"Yeah, I'm sure he was happy to see you. Did he threatened to kill ya? Because last I heard you stepped all over his toes."

Dorothy was grinning widely. She was toying with a lock of her hair and tossed it over her shoulder with a sweeping gesture of her arm and leaned across the table with a predatory expression. She looked like a cat toying with a mouse. "Oh, so you know about that?"

"Yeah, he told me. Heero and I have a bond that you couldn't possibly understand," he tossed her words back at her with a sly smile of his own. Dorothy paused for a moment before tilting her head back to laugh, clearly amused.

"Oh, I bet you do." She took another swig of her water and sighed. "This place is so dull. Chang Wufei, come down to the food court with me and buy me lunch."

Wufei straightened in his chair and glared at her. "I'm not your servant."

"You would doom me to walk down there unescorted at such a time? With the colony being attacked and all?" She feigned a weak and innocent bat of her eyes. Duo heard Wufei groan. She had challenged his honor.

"Very well," Wufei said dutifully before standing up. Dorothy smiled with triumph and hooked her arm through his and walked down the hall with him. They vanished around the corner with a flourish of platinum blond.

Duo sighed and rested his head on his arms that were crossed on the table. Dorothy Catalonia was a professional manipulator, and she had struck a nerve in him. Heero had awoken when he felt Relena kiss him? Part of him was jealous but also grateful that she could wake him. He knew Heero was entirely devoted to her, and no matter what she did to him he would never hate her for it.

 _Ya can't help who ya love,_ Duo thought with a sigh. He knew he could never take the place of Relena in Heero's heart. He knew Relena was the embodiment of peace to the Japanese agent. Heero had complete faith in her. He had joined the Preventers after she had asked him specifically to do so. Every mission Heero took was to support Relena and her goals for Total Pacifism.

Duo recalled many times when Heero would cancel their plans, modify their missions and take the long way home just to make time for her. He wondered what had driven her into Dorothy's arms, then? Why did she choose her over Heero? He hadn't had a moment to really think about that until now. Maybe she needed someone more available than Heero was? Duo didn't think that was fair. If that were the case then why would she hold that against him? Heero had only joined the Preventers because she wanted him to. Why would she break up with him because he was too busy with it? None of that made any sense.

"Fuck, nothing makes sense anymore," Duo muttered into the table.

"What did you say?" Duo looked up to see Sally standing over him with her hands on her hips.

"Eh, nothing. You get what you need?" Duo asked. Sally nodded.

"Yes. He basically verified what the police have already said. They were attacked on their way to serve the warrant." Sally had taken a seat across from him and sighed. "I told him you were here. He wants to see you. Duo, there is no need to tell him that Cadence got away from us. He doesn't need any extra stress right now."

Duo frowned and stood up from his seat and grabbed his cane. "Okay," he said as he crossed the hall. Relena's bodyguards were standing on either side of the door and watched him as he curiously entered.

The room had transformed since the last time Duo had been there. Every surface and table had a giant vase on it, filled with fragrant white and yellow blossoms. The window had been unveiled and the bright colony light filled the room. Heero was lying under a white sheet, the wires and tubes hidden from view. He was no longer wearing the oxygen mask, but he had a few probes still attached to his temples. Relena, clad in a tailored cream-colored pantsuit, was seated on the right side of the bed in a chair, grasping Heero's hand with both of her own. Heero was looking up her until Duo entered. He could feel Heero's eyes lock onto him as he crossed the room.

"Hey Relena," Duo greeted. "Funny seeing you here."

Relena straightened in her seat but didn't move or release Heero's hand. "Duo Maxwell. I'm glad you are okay."

Duo limped over to the opposite side of the bed and stood there awkwardly. For as long as he could remember Relena had always intimidated him. He looked up at her. She was watching him with a serious, hard expression that didn't match her greeting. It was amazing to Duo how much Relena was like Heero in expression and body language. He couldn't help but feel threatened by her, despite her pacifism. She seemed to fear nothing and wasn't afraid to speak her mind. She had more conviction than anyone he had ever met. He felt very insufficient in comparison. He wished he had just half of her confidence.

"Duo," Heero's hoarse voice sounded weakly from the bed. Duo was snapped out of his staring match with Relena and looked down at his friend. Heero was lifting his hand off of the bed to weakly reach for him. Duo grabbed it and set it gently back on the bed.

"Hey man, back from the dead again, huh?" Duo said with a forced smile. He dragged the other chair in the room over to the opposite side of the bed from Relena and sat down. Heero was reaching for him again. This time Duo grabbed his hand and held it. He saw Relena shift in her seat out of the corner of his eye.

Heero was looking up at him with surprisingly energetic eyes. Dark circles shaded the skin around them, but despite his physical situation he seemed extremely alert. Heero swallowed hard before he spoke again, "I need you to pilot my suit."

"Eh? Man, what are you talking about? We don't have any suits."

Heero shook his head and squeezed Duo's hand weakly. "My Preventer suit. Sally brought it. When the time comes I need you to be the pilot."

Duo was confused. He knew that the Preventers had mobile suits that they could use in case of an attack. Why would Heero ask Sally to bring it here?

"What are you talkin' about?" He leaned in closer. Heero's expression was pleading. Duo saw Relena stiffen in her chair.

"I think Heero needs to rest for a while," Relena urged with a worried expression. Duo frowned. Heero's hand was practically crushing his own.

"Promise me," Heero pleaded. The look on the Japanese agent's face made Duo's heart ache.

"Yeah, of course. Of course I will. Anything you want," Duo said quickly, trying to calm Heero down. "Why did you ask Sally to bring your suit?" Duo knew that Heero had worked with the Preventers to design a modified Taurus suit to use in the event they needed a mobile suit intervention in space. He knew it was being kept at one of the Preventer's storage depots on Mars. He had never seen the suit. There had never been a need to use it before.

"That's enough," Relena interjected. She was stroking Heero's arm softly in attempt to calm him. Duo looked from Relena to Heero, who was still staring at him. He could hear the heart monitor beeping faster from the head of the bed.

"I need you," Heero said faintly. "Don't let anyone else touch my suit."

Duo nodded. "I understand," he said quickly. He heard the door open to the room. A nurse had entered with a chart and a vial.

"Duo, he needs to rest," Relena insisted. Duo bristled. Having her tell him off was getting annoying but he knew that she was right. Heero looked exhausted. He leaned down and squeezed the Japanese agent's hand to try and reassure him.

"I promise. I will pilot your suit." He said firmly. Heero sighed and began to relax against the bed. Duo felt the nurse and Relena staring at him. He didn't want to leave, not now that Heero was awake. It took everything in him to step away from the bed and make space for the nurse to work. Heero was watching him as he stepped toward the door.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of him." Relena said flatly as Duo grabbed the door handle. He felt tense and uncomfortable. He glanced over his shoulder at Heero who had finally lain back against his pillow and closed his eyes.

"Yeah," Duo said softly as he left the room. "I know you will."


	17. Chapter 17

Part One

Duo looked over his shoulder at Sally Po who had led him onto her Preventer transport ship. He tugged at the tight flight suit he had magically managed to squeeze into. The unfamiliar taut and unforgiving synthetic fabric held onto him like a suffocating hug. It had been years since he had worn something like this, and the suit she had handed him wasn't like anything he had ever tried on before. It was all black with silvery ports all down the spine.

She handed him a matching black helmet with an opaque visor.

"You won't be able to use this until you get hooked up," she said firmly. "I have clearance for you to do practice maneuvers just outside of the colony's security perimeter. They know you will be out there and the CPD has arranged an escort to lead you to the designated training area."

Duo nodded and took the helmet. He stared down at its solid visor, feeling very strange about this whole thing. Heero had been so adamant about him taking on the role of pilot for this suit in his stead. Duo could make out his scent on the flight suit. He had used it not too long ago.

 _Why would he ask her to bring this? What does he know that we don't?_

"So, where is this thing?" Duo asked as he shifted the helmet to rest against his hip. She motioned to the rear freight door of the ship.

"Be careful, Duo…" Sally added as she opened the door to reveal the darkened bay beyond. He looked up at her with a questioning expression but she didn't reply.

 _What is up with everyone lately?_

He stepped inside. The motion detecting lights began to flicker on down the edges of the bay, illuminating a dark mass parked in the center. Duo recognized the outer lines almost immediately. It was just as he thought, an OZ-12SMS Taurus suit in fighter mode, folded and contorted into the shape of a fighter jet. He immediately noticed the dual beam cannon mounted on top. Duo stepped out into the freight bay. As he did the gravity from the Preventer ship released him. He floated over to the railing and grabbed it to steady himself. His braid drifted past his face before falling back to thud against his chest.

"Is that a Cryo-system on the beam cannon?" He asked over his shoulder. Sally didn't reply. Duo began to realize why Sally had uttered that warning to him. She had no idea what he would be dealing with. Duo stared down at the suit. There was little else he could tell about it from the outside.

He grabbed the railing with his free hand and hugged the helmet against his chest before carefully mounting his body onto the top rail. He pushed off with his feet in the direction of the parked suit and floated slowly toward it, landing hard on the catwalk beside the top mounted cockpit. He grabbed the manual release and pulled the lever. The top hissed open and revealed the darkened inside. He looked up at the spot where he had propelled from and saw Sally looking down at him from the railing; her two trademark curls floating on either side of her face. He gave her a confident salute before dipping into the cockpit.

The seat was lying flat, facing up toward the opening. He turned in midair and landed hard on his back. To his surprise something had grabbed the back of his suit to keep from bouncing up. A hum erupted from behind him and suddenly the monitors around the seat started to spring to life one by one. Duo was impressed; he hadn't needed to activate the suit for it to recognize him. He knew it still had a security feature. He turned the helmet over and fished around the inside with a gloved hand to find the slip of paper Heero had given Sally to pass on to him. He found it and opened it carefully. Sure enough there was Heero's small, perfectly geometric handwriting.

Duo activated the main computer. The Taurus was set up like any other space suit he had ever piloted in the past. The operating system was essentially the same. He was prompted for a security code. He looked down at the code Heero had written and began typing it in. Eighty-four characters later he had finished activation sequence. The rest of the monitors sprang to life. Duo felt a strange static sensation against his back. It felt like a vacuum was sucking at his spine. He shuddered and took a deep breath, wondering what the hell he had agreed to.

Despite the familiar inner workings it was obvious that this suit had been heavily modified. He was shocked that Sally didn't know more about the suit. Had Heero really been that autonomous when rebuilding this thing? Duo had always thought that the Preventers would have regulated the shit out of a mobile suit project. One of their trademark missions was to prevent weapon's testing and the development of new weaponized technology. So why was this suit kept such a secret? Duo couldn't help but grin.

 _What they don't know can't hurt 'em, huh Heero?_

He activated the ultra compact fusion reactor. The suit trembled as it warmed up, its titanium body creaking and moaning as it came out of its cold stasis. The flight suit tightened. Duo frowned and tried to pull himself up from the seat, but couldn't break the connection against his back.

 _So that was what those disks on the back were for_ , he thought with a sigh. _They hold you into the seat._

He looked around. There were no five-point harnesses. He looked at the monitors. Basic data was reading out on every screen. Engine status. Weapon's status. Duo opened a menu and looked through his options. Dual Beam Canon, Beam Saber, and something called Quantum Global Bits? He frowned and stared at the words. _What the fuck is that?_

"Is everything okay down there?" He heard Sally calling from above. Duo sighed.

"Yeah, just checking everything out. They ready to go?" He yelled back up to her.

"Yes! Connect to channel 4-213. Good luck!"

Duo tuned in to the COM channel she had indicated. The engines were green. He was ready to go. He tapped the control on the panel to close the hatch. It slid closed with surprising silence. He took a deep breath and slid the helmet over his head.

He was plunged into soundless darkness. He wasn't sure if his eyes were open or not. The sucking sensation against his back was becoming more intense and the suit was squeezing his legs and arms. His thigh wound ached under the pressure. He heard a crackling sound and the sting of a pulse like static electricity coursed through his spine and shot down through his extremities. He felt his muscles twitching as if they had been suddenly pumped full of adrenaline.

A white light blinded him from inside the visor. When his eyes adjusted a circular pulsing orb was glowing in the center of it. He stared at it, and a computerized female voice filled his ears.

 **Pilot Duo Maxwell, verified.**

"Eh?" He turned his head to try and see past the orb but then remembered everything he saw was being projected onto the inside of the visor. He winced as the suit tightened again. He swallowed hard and tried not to panic. The suit had recognized him, but he had never seen this thing before.

 _Heero, is this why you wanted me to pilot this thing?_

Had he programmed the suit to work with him? He added that to the laundry list of questions he was sure to ask him when he returned from the test run. Suddenly his vision was filled with images from external camera. He could see the rear door of the freight compartment opening to reveal the vast darkness of space beyond it. Instead of looking down to specific monitors to activate the controls he could see everything: gauges, camera focus and target systems. He reached down blindly to grab for the thrust levers attached to the arms of the seat. He slid his feet down and tucked them into the maneuver pedals.

His heart was beating a mile a minute. He had never felt so immersed in a mobile suit's system before. He wondered if this was some variation of ZERO. The thought scared him. He had encountered ZERO System only once before when Trant Clark had forced him to test pilot Wing Zero. He had hallucinated under its power then, and he had felt it ripping his mind apart. He winced at the memory of it confusing his thoughts. He hoped to God that wasn't what Heero had installed.

 **System Functions Ready** , the silky computer voice replied.

Duo frowned. Beyond the open bay he could see a cluster of CPD policing suits waiting for him.

"Okay, I guess we gotta go see what this bad boy can do." He grinned and prepared to launch the suit. He could feel the engines whirring. "Pilot Duo Maxwell prepared for launch."

 **Permission granted. Ready for launch.**

"Let's go!"

The suit in flight mode lifted off and darted out of the bay. The colony became a blur as the Taurus dashed out of the Preventer ship and passed the cluster of CPD suits. Duo felt strange. How was he supposed to put in the coordinates to map the location of the training area? He looked down reflexively but all he could see was the image projection from the external suit camera.

"Uh…" he tried to reach out to blindly reach for the input consol but he found his hands were stuck fast to the handles by the static force. He grunted and winced at the resistance. _How the hell am I supposed to use the map on this thing?_

 **Please specify projected coordinates.**

He blinked. Was this thing reading his mind?

 **Please specify coordinates. Verbal commands are not required.**

 _Holy shit. Um, okay. L3-219-2216_.

 **Plotting course. Course plotted.**

Duo's vision was suddenly filled with a transparent graph. On it was a faint, glowing line that showed the direction he needed to go.

"Wow. So all I gotta do is think about what I need and it does it. Is this really ZERO System?"

 **Program requested is WO-SP-AI. Wing-One Spirit Program Artificial Intelligence.**

"Wing-One?" Duo echoed. "Who developed you?"

 **Program developed by Black Alpha in accordance with Preventer Agency Logistics.**

 _Of course_ , Duo thought with a grin. _Black Alpha, huh?_ Duo recognized the code name from a few previous assignments Heero had been on. _So what do I have to do to transform into suit mode?_

 **Think direct commands, and I will comply.**

 _Full suit mode_ , Duo directed awkwardly with his thoughts. Something in the corner of his field of vision blinked.

 **Fighter Suit Mode Activated.**

The cockpit jolted and he saw arms begin to unfold in front of him. The dual beam cannon was being held by both hands. The suit didn't slow in its course at all despite the transition.

Finally he arrived at the perimeter of L3 space. The CPD suits circled around him.

"Pilot Zero Two, you are cleared for test." One of the officers said over the COM. Duo looked around at the open space and spotted a cold lump of rock slowly floating by. He grinned. _Sorry, rock, you're about to be zapped into space dust._

"Initiating weapon's test," Duo said aloud. He pushed down on the thrusters and the suit boosted forward. He locked his eyes on the target and to his surprise the system automatically followed his gaze and locked. He was surprised at how easy the system was to use, and soon he was operating it without even having to think about it.

He approached the slowly revolving target and then stopped in front of it. He pulled back on the controls. The suit began to slip backwards away from the target. The rock was shrinking away in the distance but was still on lock. Duo lifted the cannon and aimed. He activated it. A loud humming noise filled his ears. His finger twitched over the top of the weapon's control. Once the cannon indicator turned red he tapped it with his thumb. Instantly two large, blinding beams of white light burst from the cannon and shot across the open space between him and the rock. The asteroid vaporized before his eyes.

Duo grinned and couldn't help but laugh. No wonder Heero loved beam cannons.

He pulled out the beam saber, tested it and then returned its hilt to the chamber in his thigh.

 _Activate … um… Quantum Global Bits?_

 **Activating.**

Suddenly his field of vision blurred. From the torso suit ten diamond shaped shards detached and began orbiting him. Duo felt the pulse of static heighten through his limbs. Through the camera he could see a faint aura shimmering in an orb shape around the suit, warping the image of the CDP suits waiting at the edge of the test site. The metallic diamonds were following the edge of the orb, as if magnetically attached to it. A sudden realization occurred to him. This "bit" system appeared to be just like the MS Mercurius Planet Defensor Shields. It was a shielding system.

Duo scanned the energy readouts. He wouldn't be able to use any long range attacks through his own shield, but he could use hand to hand if he had to. It also limited his speed and agility.

 _Deactivate Quantum Global Bits._

 **Deactivating.**

Suddenly the bits slammed back into the suit. Duo could hear a ticking noise as they reattached and the glowing orb dissolved.

He sighed. His head was starting to ache. It had been so long since he had piloted a mobile suit, and he had never had to do so in a system like this. He wasn't sure if he liked it.

 **WO-SP-AI is developed for short interval battle. Override of the program and manual mode will be possible.**

Duo blinked. It read his thoughts!

"Yeah, no offense Wing-One… but I'm not used to this kind of thing."

 **Understood. Do you request manual mode?**

"Um, sure?"

 **Manual Mode Override.**

Suddenly the visor on his helmet went dark and shifted up from his eyes. The inside of the cockpit illuminated to reveal a more traditional method of piloting. Duo took a long, deep breath and looked down at the familiar controls. He smiled. This was going to be a fun afternoon.

Part Two

Duo was exhausted. The trial run of Heero's Preventer suit had been enlightening. He had left the experience humbled and beyond impressed, not to mention jealous that Heero had such an amazing toy to play with.

Sally drove them back in silence to the hospital. Duo was too tired to make small talk. The Wing-One system and the specialized G-suit had taken a lot out of him. She pulled up in front of the hospital and let him out by the valet parking entrance.

"Do you need me to come up with you? Or come back to give you a ride later?"

Duo glanced down at his watch. It was nearly 2200. "Nah, I can hail a cab later. Thanks, Sally. See you tomorrow."

He watched her drive off before leaning heavily on his walking cane. His thigh was burning. He reached into his Preventer coat pocket and dry swallowed one of the antibiotics the doctor had insisted he take. With all of the excitement he had forgotten to eat and take the pill. He limped into the hospital, grabbed a bagel at the small coffee shop on the first floor and hungrily ate it on the now functioning elevator. He made it to the ICU floor and stepped out to see the familiar hulking figures of Relena's men flanking Heero's door. They straightened as he hopped toward them.

"I need to talk to him," he said firmly. One of the men sighed and poked his head into the room. Duo was annoyed. _I can't believe I have to make a fucking appointment to see my best friend,_ he thought angrily as Relena's face appeared in the doorway.

"He's asleep," she whispered. Duo stiffened.

"Like hell he is. Wake him up, he'll want to see me."

Relena frowned. Her blue eyes shimmered with determination. "He needs his rest, Duo."

Duo dropped his cane and stood at his full height. He tried to look as intimidating as possible. "Let me in, Relena. Let's not make this ugly, okay?" A large hand grabbed his shoulder. One of the guards had grabbed him and was starting to pull him backwards.

"Let him in," Duo heard Heero's voice say from behind her. Relena narrowed her eyes at him.

"Don't get him too worked up, Duo." She warned before stepping aside. Duo frowned, shook the guard's hand off of his shoulder and stepped over his cane and into the hospital room. Heero had been lying flat on the bed, but was in the process of struggling to prop himself up with his elbows. Relena rushed over to his bedside to help him sit up against a pile of pillows.

"Thank you," Heero said quietly. "I need to speak to Duo privately."

Duo avoided looking at Relena as she left the room. He didn't want to know what her face looked like. He didn't want to feel guilty or wrong for being there.

The door clicked behind him. Heero was looking at him expectantly. Duo couldn't help but smile.

"That shit was amazing," he blurted. The Japanese agent's split lip perked into a half smile.

"I knew you'd like it," he said softly. Duo limped over to the side of the bed and flopped down into the seat that Relena had been nursing Heero from for the past three days. He was trembling with excitement.

"I mean, how? How did you manage to make a program like that? Is it derived from ZERO? I was worried it was ZERO at first. I can't handle that shit; I don't know how it doesn't kill ya. Hell, it was reading my mind. The dual beam cannon, does it have a Cryo? The Global Bits are insane! Those are inspired by Mercurius, right? The A.I. on it is amazing! And it knew me, how did it know who I was?" He found himself ranting. Heero had been waiting patiently while he ranted.

"I thought about you a lot while I was working with that program," Heero explained quietly. "Eventually it came to know you through my memories."

Duo blinked. The idea of a computer reading Heero's thoughts – thoughts about HIM – was totally bizarre. The fact that Heero had been thinking of him during the process alone was a compliment.

"Well, I am glad you did. I really like that suit. But why? Why ask me and not someone like Wufei? Chang is just as good of a pilot as you are, and he can withstand ZERO just fine."

Heero shifted in the bed and had reached a hand out towards him. Duo grabbed the extended hand and held it firmly. "Like I said before," the Japanese man said in a hoarse voice. "I have come to rely on your piloting skills." Duo felt him squeeze his hand. He sighed. He knew exactly what he meant.

Heero had always complimented him on his piloting skills in the past, and whenever they had a mission that involved evasion and tactical maneuvers he would leave it up to him. It was the best compliment about piloting he could ever hope receive: having the pilot of Wing Zero concede that you have a skill that surpassed his own.

"Well, for you, anytime." Duo said with a grin. Heero smiled. It was rare to see him smile so genuinely. The state of his face was absolutely pathetic. The bruising was shifting from purple to green but his split lip and two blackened eyes made him appear uncharacteristically weak and vulnerable. It was difficult for Duo to see him that way. It wasn't something he wanted to get used to.

"Well I won't hold you up. I got lots of questions about that suit, though. I can come back tomorrow and ask ya. I don't want Relena to string me up by my toenails…" Duo tried to stand up but Heero refused to let go of his hand. He felt him pulling him down towards the bed.

"Take care of that suit, Duo." Heero said, his voice barely audible. Duo smirked.

"Yeah-yeah, I will. Jeez, all you care about is the suit?"

Heero tugged him down again roughly. Duo didn't resist. He leaned over the bed and closed the distance between them. He pressed his lips gently against those of the wounded Japanese agent. He felt Heero squeeze his hand tightly with renewed vigor. Duo sighed against his mouth and couldn't help but grin at him again.

"Take care of yourself, too." Heero added before kissing him again. Duo nodded.

"Mission accepted."

Heero let him go and Duo straightened and gave him a playful salute. "You get some rest _sleeping beauty_."

Heero scowled as Duo made his way to the door. "You've been talking to Dorothy."

Duo laughed, gave him a little wave and left the room.


	18. Chapter 18

Part One

"Now do you understand?"

Duo stared down at file folder in front of him. Everything just looked like random numbers and letters to him. There was a printout of a brain PET scan. Duo stared down at it. He wasn't sure what he was looking at. The colorful image showed an outline of a brain in red and yellow, with little hints of green. It looked more like someone's messy finger painting than a tool for medical diagnosis.

Relena was sitting on the opposite side of the table in a private room just off of the ward. She had approached him as he had left Heero's room and had insisted that they speak in private. He hadn't expected her to present him with Heero's file.

"No… sorry, I don't. What am I supposed to be looking at, exactly?" He felt dumb. He watched as she leaned across the table and tapped the PET scan.

"Heero has heightened brain activity," she explained patiently, her bright blue eyes fixed on his face. Duo frowned and stared down at the scan as if it held the realization she was attempting to stoke out of him. He was coming up with nothing.

"Yeah, well… I don't think any of us needed a fancy machine to tell us that." Duo said plainly. Relena sighed.

"Duo, have you ever heard of the Newtype Theory?"

He looked up from the scan and blinked. "Yeah, that's just some urban legend from the colonies though. Something about how someday people in space are going to evolve to surpass the abilities of humans on Earth. Are you trying to say that Heero has telekinesis?"

Relena shook her head, her expression somber. "No, nothing that fantastical. According to the neurologist Heero has an unusual brain and it isn't like anything he had ever seen before. Typically humans have areas in their brain with little to no activity, and the frontal lobes will have heightened areas. Heero has no dead spots, and his activity is in the red on nearly 75 percent of his brain."

Duo felt his jaw slacken. "So you're saying he _is_ a Newtype?"

Relena leaned back and crossed her legs. She rested her petite hands in her lap and frowned. "I don't know. But the doctors here feel he may be the first Newtype ever documented."

Duo watched her as she reached back across the table to gather the file and stack it neatly. "So, why are you telling me this?"

"Because," she began, her expression stern, "If he is we need to preserve his brain function. He is healing. Perhaps at a rate faster than a normal human, but he is still mortal. Sally and I have decided that we aren't going to burden him with the details of the investigations for the time being."

Duo began to feel defensive. "Why can't you just say what you want to say, and get this over with?"

Relena sighed heavily. "The doctor noticed that when you enter the room all of his physiological factors increase. Heart rate, blood flow, and brain activity. He doesn't do that for anyone else. Until he heals, we need you to give him some space. We don't want to compromise him, and we need him to make a full recovery." She leaned forward again and set her clasped hands on the tabletop. "If he is the world's first Newtype, we could learn so much from him. We need to protect that."

Duo felt his eyes involuntarily narrow. "So you're saying I am no good for him, right?"

Relena was staring at him. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, and that was the thing that bothered him most about her. She had a politician's poker face. "You would risk his health and well being just to fulfill some self-serving need?"

Duo felt challenged. He fisted his hands and took a deep breath. _Be professional._ He heard Heero's voice chiming over and over in the back of his mind. He knew flying off the handle when dealing with Relena wouldn't do him any good. People would just think he was a dirt bag for yelling at her. He wanted to look at it from the perspective she was presenting, that she was just protecting him, but the petty part of him was convinced that she was just jealous of his connection with the Japanese agent.

 _His pulse quickens when he sees me, huh? That must be driving her insane._

"Fine." He managed to spit out, his voice more bitter than he had intended. She nodded curtly and gathered the file and stood up to leave. Duo watched her go and sighed.

He wasn't sure what the right thing to do was. If Heero was a Newtype then that would be an amazing discovery, but he wasn't completely surprised. Being a Newtype didn't make Heero some sort of infallible god. He made mistakes just like everyone else.

Part Two

Europe's "The Final Countdown" pierced the darkness as Duo's new cell phone rang loudly through the hotel room. He frantically rolled across the enormous bed to try and reach the ringing phone in time. He pawed blindly at the side table a few times before snatching it up and answering it huskily.

"Huh? Yeah, who is it?"

"Duo, where are you?"

He blinked and looked over at the alarm clock on the side table. Its glowing green face revealed that it was nearly half past four in the morning.

"Mmm… my hotel. What's wrong, Chang?" It had been days since he had seen the Chinese man. They had met four days ago for lunch with Quatre to discuss the status of the Leonard Cadence case. The guy had been taken into custody after he had tried to flee the colony and was being held without bail. He faced a myriad of charges, and until he was convicted Duo had been instructed to stay in the hotel room Heero had arranged for him.

He pushed himself up to a sit. He saw the ball of fur that was Milo at the foot of the bed shift slightly at the sound of his voice.

"Duo, get to the spaceport. Mobile suits are headed toward the colony. They were spotted leaving L1. Current ETA 0712."

Wufei's commanding voice activated every cell in his body. He jumped up from the bed and staggered toward the closet to find his pants. "Okay, on my way."

He shucked his clothes on and jammed his feet hurriedly into his boots before grabbing his car keys and ducking out of his hotel room. He shrugged the Preventer jacket over his shoulders as he jogged down the hallway and waited impatiently during the elevator's descent.

His thigh was still aching from his wound but it had been two days since he had used the cane. He could apply regular pressure to it though it still slowed his progress. He jogged out to his car that had been parked near the front entrance. Heero had left it at one of the CPD offices before he had been attacked. Now that Duo could press the clutch he had gone to retrieve it and could drive it short distances with no problems.

He hopped in and drove like a bat out of hell down the street towards the spaceport. It was only 0500 and the streets were virtually empty. He put the Cobra through her paces masterfully despite being half awake, drifted into the spaceport parking lot, slammed it over a low curb into a parking spot and jumped out and ran as fast as he could. Sally was standing just outside of the spaceport with Wufei and Quatre in tow.

"Okay, so what are these suits?" Duo asked, panting as he tried to catch his breath. He was jogging toward the CPD MS hanger where they had temporarily stored Heero's suit.

"There has been no identification on the incoming suits," Quatre reported as he fell in beside him. "A transport freighter just called that suits are headed this way. By my calculations they should arrive between 0700 and 0720, but who is to say they don't detour somewhere else."

"They are more than likely Leonard Cadence's pet project," Wufei added from his other side. "Interrogations haven't been going well."

Duo frowned. Ahead he could see some of the CPD officers in flight suits running for their mechs. He approached a line of lockers and opened the one with a messy 02 written on the outside and pulled out his inky black flight suit.

"How many CPD units are there?" Duo asked as he started shedding his clothes. He shoved them into the locker.

"L3 only has ten," Sally reported. She had averted her eyes from Duo's naked frame. Duo didn't care who saw what at this point. There was no room for modesty on the battlefield. He had done this many times in front of Quatre and Wufei, who didn't even bat an eye at him. He was struggling with pulling the form fitted suit over his leg. Quatre had reached down to help tug it across his skin while Wufei was steadying him where he stood, providing a firm shoulder for balance.

"L2 and L4 CPD units are en route," Quatre added. "I also have the Maganacs here. Five of them. Command them as you see fit, they have been told to take orders from you."

"So that makes it, what?" Duo had lost count. He was zipping up the front of his suit. He tossed his hair out of the way before fastening the tight collar at the neck. He reached in for his flight boots and slipped them on. Wufei had dropped to one knee to tighten them for him.

"Ten from L3, Seven from L2, another ten from L4. Along with my Maganacs that makes thirty-two. Thirty-three with the Taurus," Quatre reported. Duo fished his gloves from the locker, slid them on quickly and then grabbed the helmet.

"Okay, but who is giving _me_ orders? I'm not a Preventer, or a cop. So am I supposed to act independently?" He looked from Quatre to Sally Po, who had turned to face him once more.

"You will be piloting a Preventer suit, so you will be acting under Preventer orders." Sally informed him. Duo sighed.

"Great. Consider this charity work then," he said with a faint smile. He reached over to pat Quatre's shoulder with a free hand. "Wish me luck. I'll see you guys on the other side."

Part Three

Duo stared at the glowing monitors in front of him displaying the velvety black, twinkling blanket of space laid out as far as his eyes could see. He saw that the L3CPD suits had flanked him on both sides. They were all facing outward from the colony waiting for the incoming assault. Duo looked over at the L3CPD suits. They were painted a pale grey with dark green accents. They appeared to be watered down versions of old OZ-02MD Virgo suits. As far as Duo could see they had a dual buster rifle that appeared to be inspired by Wing Zero, and four Planet Defensor discs per suit. In his rear camera he could see Quatre's five Maganacs floating silently behind him. The L2 and L4 supports were still en route to L3, and were supposed to arrive within an hour.

He looked down at his gloved hands. They were resting on top of the black, shielded helmet. He wasn't sure what he was going to do. He had toyed with the Wing-One system a little on his test run, but he had spent the remainder of his time piloting in the way he knew best, the good old-fashioned way. He no longer felt intimidated by the program, but he wasn't sure he would need it.

 _So, Heero is a Newtype… no wonder he prefers systems with A.I. to help him focus._

To Duo the A.I. provided great assistance, but there was something a little disconcerting about having a computer all up in your business. He reluctantly recalled his brief interlude with ZERO system. He hadn't ever wanted to try that system before, but that crazy OZ officer Trant Clark had given him no choice. If he didn't submit to the test he was going to order an attack on the colony and had promised to kill Hilde along with it.

Duo remembered vividly the sensation of ZERO stabbing into his very consciousness and taking total control. It had made him see shit he never wanted to see again. All of his enemies had turned into multiple Deathscythes. It felt like he had been ripped out of his own body. He saw himself turning to fire the buster rifle at an enemy. The beam had ripped through space and blasted through L2. He watched it implode. He saw Hilde enveloped in the shock wave. A single thought had echoed over and over in his mind. _"Who is my enemy?"_

The memory had started to make him feel nauseous. He swallowed a few times and tried to think about something else. He felt his queasy stomach rumble and complain. He hadn't eaten anything.

"Damn, I hate fighting on an empty stomach." Duo muttered to himself. He knew that there were a few protein bars hidden under the seat. It was a standard thing that all pilots did in the event they were stranded. He had seen them. He had noted they were the only ones Heero ever ate. Peanut and cashew salted bars. Duo sighed. The guy really needed to live a little. Hadn't he heard of strawberry pomegranate or banana nut?

He knew he couldn't eat one now. Eating right before an encounter always resulted in hours of cleaning bile out control panels. He had learned that the hard way.

His thoughts were interrupted by a beeping sound coming from the control panel. His immediate thought was that something was on approach but his field scanners were displaying no movement ahead. He looked down to inspect the blinking red button on the control panel and realized it was for the COM. He was receiving a private transmission.

He opened it and the display to his right blinked. When it regained its image Heero's face had been added in a small box at the bottom. Duo blinked. He saw Heero's now nearly healed eyes narrow on him.

"I have been calling for five minutes," Heero said coldly. Duo tilted his head.

"Really? Sorry, I guess I spaced out there for a minute. What the heck are you doing calling me? You're supposed to be in recovery." Duo noticed that Heero was still sitting in a bed. He had a bulky headset with a strange forehead strap and was typing something vigorously into a keyboard. It looked as though someone had set up a laptop for him in his recovery room.

"You thought I would let you do this alone." It wasn't a question so much as a statement. Heero was looking down at something and then tilted his head to look at the screen in front of him. Duo had a feeling he wasn't looking at him. He wanted to lean forward to inspect the image further but his suit was attached to the seat behind him and allowed very little extra movement in the cockpit. He relaxed against the backrest and closed his eyes for a minute.

"Why aren't you wearing the helmet?"

"What? It isn't time to fight yet."

"Put it on."

"Now? Jeez, fine." He opened his eyes and picked up the black helmet. Carefully he slid it over his head. The solid visor was down. Once it was over his face it began to block all external light and sound. The orb of light from before burst onto the screen.

 **Pilot Duo Maxwell, verified.**

"Nice to see you too, Wing-One."

" _ **Don't talk to it like that"**_ _,_ Heero's voice sounded as if it were coming from all around him. Duo would have jumped out of his seat except the fasteners against his back held him down firmly. He felt the suit was tightening around him. He felt heavy, as if he were being plunged deep underwater.

"Don't talk to it like what? Be polite to it? I'm not a jerk like you are." Duo said loudly.

" _ **I meant don't waste your energy speaking with your mouth, baka."**_

Duo blinked. The screen in front of him sprang to life to show what his suit was seeing just beyond the colony perimeter. Heero's voice seemed to be seeping from every corner of the cockpit. It didn't have the ringing sound it normally had through a speaker.

 _Are you… in my head?_ Duo thought hesitantly. There was nothing but silence for a few moments before his mind was filled with Heero's voice.

" _ **I can communicate through Wing-One with you this way. Stop wasting your energy talking manually with your mouth."**_

 _Holy shit._ Duo was shocked. Heero had not only worked out a way of communicating with the suit, he had developed a new type of intra-pilot communication as well.

" _ **Exactly. Now everything you think, every hesitation or idea you have, I can experience as well."**_

Duo couldn't help but smile. _Does this thing only go one way, though? Why can't I see what you are thinking?_

" _ **Because right now you are the weapon. If I was in a suit and directly linked to Wing-One it would be more symbiotic."**_

 _So, did you make another suit?_ Duo waited patiently for an answer.

" _ **I'm not answering that."**_

 _You made me a suit._ Duo chided.

" _ **Who do you think that suit was for?"**_

Duo blinked. "You made this for me?"

" _ **Stop talking."**_

 _You made this for me!_ He felt honored. Heero had made him a suit. He had been working on this specifically for him. The Japanese agent was silent. _Just admit it. You made this one for me, didn't you?_

" _ **I had been working on it for you, but then you decided to quit."**_ Duo felt a twinge of guilt. He wondered if Heero had felt as abandoned as he did when he had left Preventer. He knew he didn't have to leave. Sally and the board had only suggested that he take a leave of absence for a few months as punishment, but Duo's pride had been stomped on. He couldn't go back to work there after being reprimanded for protecting his partner. He didn't want to work with that baggage hanging from him.

 _I'm sorry, Heero. About all of that shit._

" _ **There is no point in dwelling on that now."**_

Duo sighed. He closed his eyes again to block out the images Wing-One was displaying. Having Heero in his mind was oddly comforting. He imagined Heero as an irritable angel, complete with Wing Zero style feathered wings, standing on his shoulder directing his thoughts.

" _ **Angels aren't naked."**_

Duo grinned. So he COULD see his thoughts. _Cherubs are naked._

He heard Heero sigh. He wasn't sure if the sound was from his mind or the speakers beyond the helmet. Could someone mentally sigh?

 _I'm shocked Relena let you even do this,_ Duo added.

" _ **She didn't want to. She is sitting right here with me. The doctors only allowed me to do this under the condition that I be closely monitored during the battle."**_

Duo frowned. _She really still cares about you._

" _ **I know."**_

 _Why did she break up with you?_

" _ **I am not having this conversation right now."**_

 _So you're just never going to tell me?_ There was silence. _Heero? Fine, whatever._

" _ **I will tell you later."**_

 _Promise?_

" _ **Yes."**_

Duo smiled. He wiggled his fingers and toes. He felt strange. The suit was squeezing him so hard he felt nearly numb. It was as if his blood didn't have to fight as hard to get from one side of him to another. He knew it was supposed to keep him from passing out in the event that started pulling serious G-forces in battle, but when sitting stationary it seemed to be helping to direct his blood flow more efficiently into his brain.

" _ **Exactly."**_

 _Stop reading my thoughts._

" _ **Stop having thoughts."**_

Duo sighed. _You wanna see what thoughts I was having last night?_

" _ **No."**_

Duo grinned. Heero would rue the day he tried to do the Vulcan mind meld with him! He let his mind retrieve the dream he had been having before Wufei had woken him up that morning. The memory was surprisingly vivid. He tried to recall every detail. He had been working on Deathscythe. They had just finished a battle with mobile dolls in the atmosphere. It was during the conflict between Libra and Peacemillion. They had managed to beat the enemy forces back for the night. Howard's men were busily working on Heavyarms and Sandrock nearby. The other pilots had gone to gather in the cantina. Duo was about to join them but saw Heero vanish into a storage room. He followed him. It had been a difficult and frustrating battle. They didn't look like they would be able to win against White Fang, Milliardo's organization, at the rate they were going then. Duo saw Heero standing beside a workbench. He was soldering something on a circuit board he had pulled out of Wing Zero.

" _ **Don't."**_

 _You remember this one, huh?_ Duo knew he shouldn't abuse the fact he had finally gotten Heero's undivided attention. He hadn't seen the guy in almost a week. Relena had made sure of that. Now that he and Heero were linked he wanted to show him just how much he missed him.

He let the memory pour out across his mind. Every detail he could recall. He had grabbed Heero from behind and started to rub his hands across the crotch of his flight suit. The Wing Zero pilot had dropped his soldering iron and had wasted no time initiating one of their most intense make out sessions. Duo remembered how Heero had pinned him against a shipping crate and pulled off his flight suit. He could feel Heero's hands sliding across his hips. He felt the Japanese pilot's hot, willing mouth envelope his-

" _ **DUO!"**_

Duo cackled. _I fucked the shit out of you that night._

" _ **I'm going to kill you."**_

"Promises, promises."


	19. Chapter 19

"Incoming mobile suits," Sally's voice drifted into his ears. Duo frowned and opened his eyes and looked out into the distant depths of space for a sign of the approaching suits. His field scanners weren't picking up a thing. He knew that Sally's Preventer cruiser could pick up scans at a wider radius than his suit could, but he thought he would be able to see them by now. His pulse began to quicken as two blips appeared at the corner of his radar. He peered into the flickering darkness of the battlefield.

"I should be able to see them by now," he muttered. "Do any of you have a visual?"

"Negative," a captain from L2 answered over the COM. "No visual."

"Fifty-five mobile suits on approach from L3-293-121 sector space." Sally reported. Duo couldn't help but tense at the numbers. They only had 33 suits to defend with, and though he felt confident his Taurus suit could take out quite a few on its own, he couldn't help but feel the odds were being stacked against them.

" _ **Calm down. Remember that you also have the Preventer Cruiser's fore guns, and the beam cannons from L3's Colony Defense System to assist you."**_

Heero's voice was calm and matter-of-fact. Duo found no comfort in it.

 _Calm down? Easy for you to say, you're lying in a comfy bed right now, buddy._

" _ **Not by choice."**_

Duo sighed and peered in the direction Sally had indicated. Wing-One compensated for him and zoomed automatically to display the area he had been staring at. He couldn't see the incoming enemy.

"They gotta have some sort of stealth technology, then. I still can't see shit."

" _ **Deploy Quatre's men. Make them skirt the battlefield and come around from behind at that coordinate. If the enemy is approaching with concentration you will need to disperse to weaken their defenses. This isn't AD1775, you shouldn't be lined up like this."**_

 _Yeah, you're right._ He grabbed his thrust controls and let his piloting skills kick in. He couldn't see his arms and legs due to the Wing-One's immersive helmet, but he didn't need to. He knew where everything was. _Just like riding a bike._

The Taurus shot up away from the flat plane of the battlefield. He glided a short distance and positioned himself above his comrades, creating an extra dimension of defense. He knew that the CPD was going to lure in the enemy to a particular spot and then let L3's CDS guns assist. Duo frowned. This head-on style of combat definitely wasn't his style.

 _So where are my old stealth shields and jammers, huh? You made this suit for me, right?_

" _ **Those technologies are illegal in the Earth-Sphere. Preventer wouldn't allow it."**_

 _Of course they wouldn't. They can't endorse anything that works._

" _ **They consider stealth technology a nefarious tool that gives someone too much advantage. They don't think it's honorable."**_

Duo laughed bitterly. _Nothing about killing and battle is honorable. When are they going to just accept it?_ He sighed heavily and felt his annoyance building. He grit his teeth and tried to focus on the task at hand. _I guess people like me just have to continue to exist; to keep doing the dirty and dishonorable things nobody else wants to do._

"Maganacs, try to approach the enemy from the rear. Don't attack until first encounter," he said firmly.

"Affirmative," replied a low, grumbling voice from the other end of the COM. Duo could see the five Maganacs slipping away from their line of defense.

"Good move," Sally's voice echoed from the COM. Duo blinked. He then remembered that any conversation he and Heero were having couldn't be heard by anyone else. "Incoming suits will make contact in 92 seconds."

Duo felt his chest tighten. He still couldn't see anything. There was something unsettling about being attacked by an invisible enemy. He couldn't help but grin. _Makes me miss good old Deathscythe._

Heero was silent but Duo knew he could feel every bit of anxiety, anticipation and excitement that he was.

"… 27 seconds…" Sally said.

Duo stared at the field scanners. Clearly these suits didn't have jammers; he could see fifty-five blips on the monitor. They were moving in fast. He went to ready his dual buster rifle, but before he could put in the manual request Wing-One had done it for him. He aimed it where he thought the suits would appear.

" 3… 2… 1… contact."

The battlefield erupted into a kaleidoscope of beam blasts as fifty-five white units materialized below him. The various CPD-02MD Virgo suits all opened fire just as the enemy revealed itself. Duo did the same, triggering a flood of yellow beam energy to sweep across the battlefield. The attack wiped two blips off of his field scanner.

" _ **Remember, you only have two more shots with the rifle. It can only fire three times each battle. Save your next two shots. Let the CDS guns handle the rest of the long range attacks."**_

 _Gotcha._ Within moments the rifle had been shifted to mount against the back of the Taurus and had been replaced by the beam saber. Duo wasted no time engaging the nearest enemy. _Jesus, what is that thing?_

The mobile suit that approached him was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Instead of the traditional humanoid features with arms and legs it was shaped like a ball, with two enormous retractable arms. It careened toward him and lashed out one long, tentacle-like arm toward him. He rolled the Taurus out of the way to evade and attempted to strike it from behind. Its other cable arm had swung back at him and made contact with his left leg. It had latched onto his suit around the knee and had begun to retract at an alarming speed, closing the distance between them. Duo quickly severed the cable with his beam saber and tried to jet upward to make some space. As he attempted to move away it had attempted to latch onto his suits' right foot with its undamaged cable but narrowly missed.

 _Activate Quantum Global Bits, I need a shield here!_

 **Confirmed. Quantum Global Bits Activated.**

Wing-One's silky voice filled thoughts. He saw the ten bits pull away from the Taurus and could see the shimmering aura of the shield envelope his suit. The shield deflected the tentacle arm as it attempted to grab him again.

 _Deactivate shield. I can't attack through it._ Wing-One complied. The shield gradually disintegrated and the bits vanished.

 **Quantum Global Bits Deactivated.**

Duo rounded Taurus and lunged at the ball, rolled and slashed it through the center with the beam saber. The cut across the ball glowed and a moment later it exploded into a blinding white light, leaving behind it a floating pile of shrapnel. Duo pulled the Taurus back and directed it toward the main concentration on the battlefield.

 _What was that thing?_ Duo frowned as he approached another ball-shaped enemy. It turned what looked like a glowing red eye at him and whipped an arm in his direction. He evaded and slashed at the arm, severing the hook like appendage at the distal end. He pushed the Taurus suit to a higher acceleration and felt his flight suit crushing his body into the seat. He could hear nothing but the heavy hum of his suit and the rasping sound of his own breath as he slammed the glistening blade of his beam saber into the eye of the ball. Everything was starting to move in slow motion. He retracted the blade and reversed thrust and darted backwards before the ball could explode. Another enemy appeared behind him and grabbed for his suit's arm. The enemies appeared to be crawling at a snail's pace across his Wing-One's display. His own breaths were coming at increasingly longer intervals. He began to notice small details on the enemy he hadn't noticed before. Its external camera was set in the center of the red eye. He could see a seam near the top of the ball that appeared to be the maintenance access. It didn't appear to have a cockpit hatch. A small number had been stenciled in black on its white painted exterior near the red eye of the suit. He could see it with increasing clarity as he approached. It read "SP-W05."

 _What… what the hell…_ A seed of panic began to blossom in his mind. _This is… this is what ZERO did to me…_ He recalled this very same feeling when he had been forced to pilot Wing ZERO. The system had taken control of his mind and had begun to make him hallucinate, and during that experience everything had moved slower. Every action he took became more precise and more deliberate. He couldn't help but fear it. He felt his heart beginning to pound against his flight suit. Everything began to sound distant. He couldn't hear the chatter on the basic COM anymore. He couldn't hear the explosions or the clashing of the mobile suits beside him. He couldn't hear the crackling discharge from the beam cannons from the CDS guns.

" _ **Remain calm."**_

Heero's voice was the only thing that he could hear and the only thing that seemed to be moving in real time.

 _What is happening to me? Is this ZERO system?_

" _ **No. Wing-One is accelerating your brain activity. It is allowing you to analyze and make decisions faster than you normally would."**_

 _Then why the hell is everything moving so slow?_

" _ **They are moving at the same speed they were before. You're just moving through them faster."**_

 _Faster?_ Suddenly Duo realized that he couldn't feel his body. It felt like a distant entity. He felt as if he were a free-floating specter looking out on the battlefield. It was disconcerting. _Is this how you feel when you fight, Heero? Is this what Newtypes see?_

" _ **Newtype?"**_

Duo saw another ball approach. He directed Taurus to close the distance and severed its arms before slicing through its center. It burst upon impact. The proximity sensors sounded and through his rear camera Duo could see a vine-like arm whipping toward him. An enemy had revealed itself from its cloaking device. It grabbed his suit by the shoulder and yanked him back. Another ball was approaching quickly. He tried to dispatch the approaching one with his beam saber but missed.

He could feel his panic overriding the slow motion sensations. Suddenly everything around him began to snap back into real time. The events surrounding him were accelerating so fast he couldn't even process them.

" _ **You dropped out of sync with Wing-One. You need to remain calm."**_

 _I can't do this._

" _ **Duo."**_

 _I'm not like you._

The ball that had grabbed him from behind was tightening its grip and retracting its arm. The long, cable-like extremity was shrinking, pulling the ball toward him like a winch. The ball on approach from the front had managed to grab both his arms and was zipping closer, the long cables restricting and shrinking at amazing speed. It slammed into the chest of the Taurus.

"Fuck!" Duo exclaimed as his suit was smashed into from the front. The cockpit shuddered violently upon impact. He could hear garbled language from the COM. The voices were shouting frantically and he couldn't make out their words.

" _ **Duo, listen to me-"**_

The ball against his back had slammed into his suit. The impact sent a shock wave through the cockpit. He was suddenly very aware of his body. The flight suit had loosened around his arms and legs. Black spots began to swim across his vision. He tried to propel himself away from the balls but they were stuck fast to his suit. He couldn't move his arms.

 _Deploy the Global Bit things!_

 **Quantum Global Bits unavailable. Deployment not possible.**

" _ **The system is being restricted by the enemy, they can't detach. You need to calm down."**_

"Pilot 02, hang on!" A voice yelled from over the COM channel. Duo could see a pair of L4CPD Virgos heading toward him. Suddenly his suit began to shiver. The sensation was gradually increasing.

"What is that?" He felt the seat behind him buzzing.

" _ **They're emitting sonic waves,"**_ Heero's voice was distorting. Duo groaned as the waves began to vibrate harder against his suit. Everything around him was rattling and quivering. Wing-One's immersive display started to flicker. He could see the Virgos shooting at the one on his back. The added impact of their attack only seemed to fuel the incessant vibrations. He felt like he was on the inside of a buzz saw.

The flight suit was loosening and contracting as if it couldn't figure out how to appropriately adjust to stabilize him. He could feel the static that was holding him into the seat fading in and out, stinging and biting his skin as it was taken off and then reapplied. He was suddenly paralyzed, unable to move his arms and legs.

 _They're trying to kill me._ He felt like a goldfish being shaken in a bag. His vision was fading in and out. _They're not trying to damage the suit. They want to kill me and but spare the Taurus._

He coughed and felt vomit rolling up his esophagus. "Shoot 'em… tell CDS… focus on… me."

"What?" Sally yelled over the COM. "Absolutely not!"

" _ **No! Duo, a CDS attack will kill you."**_

 _I know._

" _ **You're not thinking straight."**_

 _They can't take me alive. I can't let 'em have this suit, Heero._

The vibrations were so intense he could no longer see. He closed his eyes. His head was beginning to throb and every muscle in his body began to ache from exertion. It was getting hard to breathe. The Virgos were shooting at the balls again. Each beam rifle shot rocked his Taurus suit.

 _Heero… please…_

" _ **Wing-One, full authority override. Black Alpha, control requested."**_

 **Control Request Approved. Pilot control override authorized for Black Alpha.**

Duo felt limp. Darkness was engulfing the outer edges of his vision. He saw menus beginning to open and close on Wing-One's displays. He heard a loud bang from behind him and a hydraulic hissing noise. The vibrations that had been convulsing him were decreasing. The Virgos had focused their attacks on the ball attached to his back. He felt a hard slam and heard the sound of an explosion. A heat signature from the blast colored his rear peripheral scanner. Duo heard the manual controls frantically beeping. The cockpit quivered and the external cameras went out. He couldn't see anything except a small green dot glowing in the center of the Wing-One immersion screen within his helmet.

" _ **Activate Flight Mode. Reverse boosters full."**_

Heero's voice was commanding and confident. Duo hung limply in the darkness as the suit trembled and groaned around him. He couldn't see what was happening but he knew that Heero was trying to transform the suit to break the hold the ball had on his suit's titanium was moaning in protest as it fought against the ball's cabled grasp. Finally there was a jolt and a loud snap. Duo felt his body press harder against the seat as the Taurus broke free from its captor and went careening away from the ball. Duo was tossed hard into the seat, his breath knocked out of him by the massive amount of g-force generated by the escape.

" _ **Stay awake,"**_ the former Wing Zero pilot commanded. Duo groaned as the screen in front of his eyes sprang to life again. He saw L3 and the skirmish beside it shrinking away. " _ **Stay with me, Duo."**_

Duo blinked. Everything that was on the display was shifting in and out of focus. He could feel the pressure of the flight suit finally able to contract evenly against his arms and legs as it attempted equilibrium. His muscles were trembling and his breathing was ragged.

" _ **You're in shock. Keep breathing."**_

Duo felt a heavy, sinking sensation slam into the pit of his stomach. He felt like a failure. How could he have let two ridiculous looking balls incapacitate him like that?

" _ **Stop being so hard on yourself. You weren't prepared for this type of enemy. You will be more prepared next time."**_

Despite Heero's words of encouragement Duo still felt like he could have done better. He gagged on the vomit that had been choking his throat and tried to swallow it back. His vision was gradually improving and he was soon able to focus on the clashes erupting below him. The Virgos were having a tough time with close quarters combat as well. Duo watched with frustration as his companions attempted to use long ranged attacks on the balls to avoid their cabled grasps. It worked to eliminate a few of them but then the giant white orbs vanished from view, having applied their cloaking devices. He could still see them on digital scans but those readings weren't accurate enough at long range to hit the target.

"Everybody, see if you can force them to group together!" Duo said with a wheeze, his own voice drowned out by the heavy pounding of his blood in his ears. He knew that if the balls could just concentrate in one spot he could attempt to hit them again with the dual buster rifle.

"Roger, we will try to lure them in!" A CPD pilot said briskly across the COM.

"Yes. We will herd them," a Maganac unit added.

 _Now all you have to do is revert to the mobile suit mode and try to hit 'em, Heero._ Duo waited for a reply. He could see the colony mobile suits beating back the balls, attempting to surround them. The occasional blast from the Preventer cruiser shot through the grouping in assistance.

" _ **Your fight isn't over yet. Wing-One, Black Alpha override complete. Direct authority to Pilot Duo Maxwell."**_

 **Authorizing Duo Maxwell. Verified. Duo Maxwell is now primary controller.**

Duo paused and stared down at the forming cluster of enemy units. His breathing became slower and calmer.

" _ **We're counting on you,"**_ Heero's voice murmured into his thoughts. Abruptly Duo felt an uncomfortable emptiness come over him. The visor for the suit shifted up to reveal the brightly lit cockpit and the blinking manual controls. Heero had disconnected from him and had cancelled Wing-One's automated system. Duo sighed and breathed in the cold, fresher air from the life support of the Taurus suit, his breathing no longer hindered by the shield of the helmet or the crushing force of the flight suit. The synthetic fabric had loosened across his chest.

 _He's letting me finish this. He knows I need to finish the mission on my own._

His lips tingled as blood began to flush away from them, the constriction of the suit releasing the tension and allowing it to flow down across the rest of his body rather than holding it concentrated near his brain.

He felt for the thrust controls and shoved his feet back into the maneuver pedals. He knew he had to focus on the task of eliminating the enemy. He scanned the area below him. His companions were gathering beneath him. Cloaked and uncloaked balls were gathering in a loose circle as the Maganacs and Virgos surrounded them. He reached down and tapped the control panel with his an unsteady finger. The suit began to morph back into its humanoid mobile suit form. He retrieved the dual buster rifle from and prepared to lock onto the target. He rolled through the open space above the enemy, using his feet to maneuver and waited for the basic operating system computer to assist in locking on to the outer edge of the enemy grouping.

He began to charge his dual buster rifle. He watched the gauge fill as power began to divert to form a beam.

"Preparing to fire. You guys might wanna start backing up." He warned.

"Move back!" Sally commanded over the COM. The CPD Virgos and Maganacs all boosted away from the central point where the balls had been forced to gather. Duo knew that this was his window of action. He pressed the trigger and the beam vaulted out from the dual buster rifle and swept through the side of the cluster, piercing and dissolving the balls inside.

He looked down at his weapon controls. He would need a two minute window to cool the buster rifle before being able to use it again.

"You have two minutes to clean up before I sweep it again," Duo said into the COM, finding his stride.

"We Confirm. Maganacs, V formation. Attack from the flank."

Duo sighed and watched as the Maganacs blasted through the group, taking out more ball suits. He counted only six operational ball suits left. The CPD Virgos were shooting at the balls from a distance, trying to avoid the now frantically whipping limbs. The L3 CDS was vaulting shots through the center of the cluster, drawing their attention. The Preventer cruiser was surrounding the balls with a volleys of beam rifle shots, preventing them from scattering.

His canon controls illuminated green to indicate that they were ready. He saw that only two enemy units were left. They had begun to retreat away from the CPD and Maganac assault. One had activated its cloak, but as they fled its companion had not.

Duo grinned. _Big mistake, buddy. Really big mistake._

He locked onto the uncloaked suit and fired, watching as the beam burst through the darkness and struck the target head on. Its cloaked companion perished in the wake.


	20. Chapter 20

Getting the Taurus suit back to the colony's CPD hangar was no problem. Getting out of the suit without vomiting from his concussion was another matter.

Duo was on his knees retching into a grease bucket Wufei had found nearby. He heaved dryly as Quatre kneeled beside him and dutifully held his hair back.

"You really should go see the medic," Wufei scolded him. Sally was kneeling in front of him with a small flashlight, shining it into his eyes.

"You definitely have a concussion," she reported before giving Wufei a worried look. Duo shook his head and then immediately regretted it and found himself face down in the bucket again.

"I'm… I'm fine… " Duo panted as he wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his flight suit. "No more doctors. I am so tired of fucking doctors and hospitals I could pu-"

"Shhh… it's okay." Quatre rubbed his back gently as Duo gasped and heaved.

Part One

"He's been cleared of all edema. No signs of seizure activity or embolism. Mister Yuy is free to leave. He should check in with his physician in a week to check his progress." Duo watched from across the hall as the Heero's doctor gave Sally Po a report on his recovery. Relena was standing just behind Sally with her hands clasped in front of her. Duo marveled at her body language. From afar she looked as if she was nothing more than a demure and porcelain stateswoman, but upon closer inspection her face reflected an unyielding, stony expression that could cut diamonds.

"Stop eavesdropping and put that ice back on," Duo felt Wufei grab his wrist and force the ice pack a nurse had given him back against his temple where a sizeable knot had begun to swell. He winced at the biting cold and felt queasy again. He was sore and bruised all over, especially around his neck and around his collarbone where the flight suit and the tapered edge of his helmet met. He unzipped Heero's spare Preventer jacket to alleviate some of the pressure against his chest. The nearly healed bullet wound on the back of his left thigh twinged. He didn't even want to know what his face looked like. "You look terrible."

"Geez, way to make a guy feel special, Fei." Duo grumbled. He leaned back heavily into his chair and scowled at the Chinese man who was returning his look with a glare of his own.

"You need to take better care of yourself. You aren't getting any younger. What were you thinking agreeing to pilot that thing anyway?" Wufei looked irritated. Duo didn't know what to say. "Whatever that thing in the cockpit is, it doesn't need to be on the battlefield. How does that thing benefit the pilot? It looks like you were chewed up and spat out by a basilisk."

Duo groaned and leaned his forehead against the tabletop. He let the ice pack fall from his face and rest against his cheek.

The battle had been a disaster for him, but a victory for the colony. He couldn't believe he had let those ridiculous ball-shaped enemies get the best of him, especially with such an advanced suit to his advantage. He was embarrassed, annoyed and frustrated with his performance.

"I don't know. I guess I just wanted to relive my glory days just one last time…" he mumbled into the surface of the table. He felt unexpectedly heavy and weary. He closed his eyes.

 _If I can just catch a couple minutes of sleep, I'll be-_

"Oh no you don't," Wufei hissed beside him. Duo felt a sharp jab of a finger into his tender ribs. He jumped up to a sit and felt his head swimming.

"Ow! Shit! What was that for?"

"Absolutely no sleeping until the doctor clears you. We don't need you slipping into a coma, too." Wufei said with a frown. "And what 'glory days' are you referring to? There was nothing glorious about anything you did back then. None of us were anyone's champions."

Duo frowned. He wasn't going to start this argument with Wufei again. He squinted across the hall to see if Sally was done with the doctor. She was still debating with the neurologist, but Duo noticed that Relena was gone.

 _Probably playing Florence Nightengale in the other room,_ he thought with a smirk. He wondered how Heero was holding up after their Wing-One bond during the skirmish outside of the colony. He had been surprised to see Heero on the COM, and even more shocked that Relena had let him get away with involving himself in a fight. He wondered if she even knew what he was doing. _Maybe he had convinced her he was only going to play a little Minecraft before bed._

He felt his stomach twinge before letting out a pathetic grumble for assistance. He grabbed it and groaned, "I'm starving."

Wufei huffed through his nose. "I know for a fact that your stomach is empty. Its contents are now spread all over the back seat of my car."

"I'll clean it up."

"No, you will pay to have it professionally sanitized."

"Yeah, that too." Duo felt his stomach moan again as he became suddenly aware of the lack of vending machines on this floor. Just as he was about to go hunt one down Sally approached their table in the waiting area.

"Looks like he is free to go. He won't be able to do any major field work for the next few days but he doesn't need to be closely monitored anymore."

Duo peered up from his argument with his stomach. "You guys are headed back to Earth?"

"No, not yet. We are still in an active investigation on Leonard Cadence and his daughter. We can't leave this colony until we know the source of those enemy units, who manufactured them, if they are related to the Cadence family, if Winner Corporation funds were used to-"

"Okay-okay. I get it, you guys have a lot of work to do." Duo frowned and leaned forward to cradle his head in his hands. "I don't need to hear all that anyway, I'm not an agent anymore, remember?"

He was staring at the floor. He could see Sally's boots shifting weight.

"I wanted to talk to you about that." Sally said. Duo looked up at her. The fluorescent light from the ceiling swam in his eyes and made it difficult for him to make out her face. He squinted and waited for her to say the words he had been waiting for since she stepped out of L3's spaceport. "We want to offer your position back to you, Duo."

He couldn't help but smile. "About damn time. Now you're going to have to start paying me."

Sally crossed her arms over her chest and grinned. "You are worth every penny."

"Now you're trying too hard."

Part Two

Duo picked at the end of his braid. He rolled the chestnut tendrils around between his fingers before smoothing the tips into a single tapered end. He looked up at Wufei from his spot in the back seat of the sedan he had rented.

"So why don't you come back to Preventer too, Wufei?" Duo asked hesitantly. He never knew why Chang had left in the first place, other than that he would often lament he had sought a "more peaceful existence". Clearly living here on X-18999 didn't provide much as far rest and relaxation. Duo saw Wufei shift in the driver's seat before he turned to look back at him with an expression that was difficult to interpret.

"I can't put myself through that kind of suffering anymore. Look at yourself. Preventer doesn't just ask that you help it solve a problem; it demands every ounce of your devotion. It subjects you to hardship. It takes you away from the people you care about. I no longer want to be a martyr for peace. I have sacrificed enough for this world."

Duo frowned. He knew Wufei was referring to his lost colony of L5 and the time he had spent alone in the darkness of space attempting to seek justice for their deaths.

He watched as Wufei turned back around, evidently done with the topic. Duo wasn't going to push him. He leaned back into the rear passenger seat and crossed his aching arms over his own bruised chest and stared at the hospital entrance, wondering if going back to Preventer was the right thing to do. He had jumped at the chance to come back, but now he was really taking the time to consider it. Did he just want to go back because he hated the monotony of is life here on X-18999? Or was it because he needed the risk and the excitement? Did he even know what he wanted in life? He had given up Deathscythe when Quatre and Preventer had asked him to. It had been one of the hardest decisions he had ever made.

He hadn't wanted his mobile suit to be destroyed. He didn't want to have to blow it up and set an example. While everyone else was quick to throw their past away he wasn't ready to abandon it. That suit one of the only things he had ever been given. It was his only possession for so long he couldn't remember what life had been like without it.

It had given him meaning. He had fought to try and justify in his mind the deaths of the people he had loved. He had tried to make meaning of their sacrifice by becoming the embodiment of death, because Death himself didn't need to mourn the dead.

But what had come of it all? What did the deaths of other people do to help him heal? In the end he was still the same fucked up, confused, emotionally tremulous guy who couldn't have a normal connection with anybody. He was close enough to Wufei and Hilde, but there were things he would never confide in them.

One of those things had just wheeled through the entrance of the hospital in a wheelchair. Duo watched as Heero glided the chair with his hands across the sidewalk towards the car with Sally in tow. Duo saw Relena approach the hospital doors but she had stopped just inside and was watching him through the glass.

 _If I think that my relationship with Heero is fucked up, I can't imagine what Relena and Heero's arrangement has been like._

Duo shifted in his seat to make room. Heero had opened the rear passenger door to the car himself and was getting up out of the wheel chair. He saw Heero stand up to his full height unassisted. He turned to look back at Relena before dropping into the seat beside Duo. Sally closed the door for him and returned the wheelchair to a porter before getting into the front passenger seat herself. Wufei wasted no time puling away. Heero was staring holes into the back of Sally's headrest and seemed like he was avoiding looking at Relena, who had placed a slender hand against the glass and was watching with her usual intense expression as they drove off down the street.

 _What the hell was that about?_ Duo frowned and watched as Heero fastened his own seat belt before looking him over gradually, his dark cobalt eyes narrowed. Then without warning the Japanese agent had lunged toward him to bring his face within an inch of Duo's.

Duo was startled and reflexively pulled away. He raised his hands to defend himself but was caught off guard by Heero grasping the back of his neck with a surprisingly light but unyielding touch. He blinked a few times and stared wide-eyed into his eyes, which were closely scrutinizing his own. He could feel the former Wing pilot's warm breath exhale against his lips in a contemplative sigh.

"You have a concussion," Heero announced. Duo relaxed a little in his grasp but kept his hands up. He could see Sally turn around to watch them from the front seat.

"He refused to stay for observation," Sally reported. Duo scowled.

"Way to rat me out Sally," he grumbled as Heero finally let him go and returned to his own side of the back seat. Duo watched as he crossed his arms over his chest and stared at him. He knew exactly he was about to say. "Listen, I'm tired of that damn hospital, okay? I'll be fine. I've been through worse."

"Hn." Duo watched as Heero leaned back into his seat and turned to stare out the window. He looked preoccupied about something. Duo wasn't going to pry, especially in front of Wufei and Sally. He began to worry the end of his braid again, feeling suddenly very uncomfortable

"So, Heero, looks like you are going to have a partner again. Duo is coming back to Preventer." Sally announced. She had turned back to face the front of the car but Duo could see her smirking face in the rear view mirror. Wufei remained silent. He saw Heero glance at him before turning back to look out the window.

"That's a shame. I was just starting to like working alone." Heero said callously.

"Lucky for you I am willing to put up with your death threats and bullshit, otherwise you'd be hard up to find anyone willing to work with you." Duo spat back with a smug grin. He could see the corner of Heero's mouth twitch in the window's reflection.

"Now you will never hear the end of their incessant bickering." Wufei said to Sally, who just smiled and laughed.

Part Three

Duo watched as Quatre's face had turned a shade of pale he had never seen on him before. The blond was holding a folder one of the investigators had handed him with a complete list of names of people who had been working with the stockholder Leonard Cadence and from the look of it he had recognized quite a few of them.

Trowa was seated beside him at the table. He had arrived that morning from Earth and had been glued to Quatre's side ever since. Duo watched as he shifted closer to Quatre and grabbed his arm as if to steady him.

"So what is he gonna do now?" Duo whispered to Heero who was sitting stoically beside him in a conference room at the Winner Corporation. They had been watching the L3 CPD lead investigator present new evidence of Cadence's betrayal to Quatre from the opposite side of the room.

Quatre was trying his best to absorb it all without breaking down. A pair of Maganacs were standing behind Quatre and Trowa with their arms crossed over their chests. Duo suspected that if they saw the names on the list that he and Heero would find some dead bodies out in the courtyard later that evening.

Heero sighed and leaned over so that their shoulder's firmly touched. "He is probably going to have to restructure his entire company," he said in a low, barely audible voice. "They found out that money Quatre had put aside for peacekeeping and charity was being funneled into companies on L1 to fund Cadence's projects. His entire accounting office was being paid off to falsify accounts."

Duo swallowed hard. He could tell Quatre was taking this whole thing personally. He couldn't imagine how shitty it must feel to find out that so many people you had trusted fucked you over. Not only had he lost faith in his employees and business partners, but he had lost assets and money as well. Duo knew that none of that would be as hard to live with as the guilt the blond must feel about his money having contributed to the development of weapons.

"We have connected Cadence to some resource mining companies that we believe supplied raw materials to build those suits that attacked L3 three days ago. We hope to confirm this information by the end of the week," the investigator was standing over Quatre with a tablet in her hand. She set it carefully in front of him and tapped something on the screen. Duo saw the surface of the tablet light up but he couldn't make out what was on it. Quatre was looking down at the image with a frown.

"I don't know who this is," Quatre said quietly.

"This is Naomi Cadence, Leonard's daughter. We have positively identified her as the USCC Campus Bomber." Duo straightened at the mention of the bombing. He had resigned from the campus only the day before to devote all of his time Preventer, but had left everything in the care of Esme and the team who were close to finishing rebuilding the campus's servers.

"Initially we were set to charge Ira Tull who had admitted to bombing the campus upon his arrest. However, after arresting Leonard Cadence in connection with the illegal black market shipments, we found that Naomi had connections on the campus to nuclear engineers and the labs that tested those technologies. Some of the research and test samples had gone missing the night before the bomb was set off. We suspect she is working with her father, providing the information they would need to generate enough power to manufacture weapons and mobile suits off-colony and off-planet somewhere in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. There have been reports from Mars that increased supposed scientific excavations have been occurring in that area." The investigator had begun tapping on the screen of the tablet again.

Duo frowned. He cleared his throat hesitantly to get the investigator's attention.

"Uhemm… so, why would Ira Tull admit to a crime he didn't commit?" He asked. The woman smiled at his inquiry.

"We think he has a personal connection with Naomi. We think she may have promised to give him or his family money in exchange for his admittance of guilt. Ira Tull's father was a contractor that worked for the Cadence family personally on their estate, which is how they initially met."

Duo nodded. "So what will happen to that kid if Naomi is found guilty?"

The investigator shrugged. "He will probably be charged as an accessory." She turned her attentions back to her tablet and began presenting Quatre with more information about the charges they were assembling against Cadence. Duo stood up and quietly left the room. He stepped out into an elegantly decorated hallway and leaned against the wall and sighed.

Something didn't feel right about the information concerning Ira Tull, but he couldn't seem to pinpoint exactly what had unsettled him. After a minute or two Heero joined him in the hallway. He had leaned against the wall beside him and was looking down at his cell phone at something.

"What are you thinking?" Heero finally asked as he shoved his phone back into his pocket. Duo hooked his thumbs into the pockets of his slacks and leaned his hips back against the wall. He found himself staring down the hallway at a large sandy colored vase filled with an exotic looking fern.

"I dunno," he finally replied. "I just don't see why Ira Tull would stick his neck out for someone like that."

"She's rich. He needed the money." Heero said flatly.

"Yeah but this colony isn't like L2 or some places on Earth where people are desperate for money." Duo began to dig at the carpet with the toe of his boot. "People don't starve here. They don't have to work 60 hours a week or suffer without healthcare. There aren't any slums here. He was going to a nice school already, so it isn't like his family couldn't afford to let him go to college. It just doesn't make any sense to me. I keep thinking it was something more personal, but I don't know what the hell it could be."

"Do you want to go talk to him?" Heero asked as he straightened the sleeve of his Preventer uniform. Duo shook his head.

"Not my case, I don't have authority." Duo replied. He heard Heero snort.

"When has that ever stopped you before?" The Japanese agent said with a smirk. Duo shrugged.

"Yeah, I know. But I am trying to play by the rules right now." He looked up from studying the floral pattern of the rich Turkish carpeting to see that Heero was studying him closely. "What? I got a cliffhanger in my nose or something?"

The former Wing pilot frowned and shook his head. "It has been three days. We should really start training."

Duo stiffened and immediately shook his head. "I dunno, man. I think I need more time to get my head straight before fucking it up in that system again." He pushed off of the wall and began retreating down the hallway. He could hear Heero following close behind.

He had sworn into Preventer again the night Sally had asked him to reapply. Director Une had done the quick ceremony with very little pomp and circumstance over a video chat. He had been initiated into the Preventer Mobile Suit Interception Unit, or MSIU. Heero had apparently already been sworn in as captain into that newly established branch. The title didn't account for much considering he and Heero were currently the only two members. However, despite being equal partners under the umbrella of Preventer, Heero was technically Duo's senior officer in the MSIU. He found that a little unsettling at first, but so far Heero had seemed pretty laid back about it and had yet to assert his authority.

They stepped out into the colony simulated afternoon light. Heero fell into step beside him as they passed through the gardens and made their way towards the parking garage. In the colony light Duo could see that Heero's bruises were practically non-existent. He seemed completely recovered. Not that Heero ever complained about a headache or a bruise. Duo had seen the guy land on his head countless times and get up without saying a word of complaint.

They silently walked out to his Mustang and Duo got in the driver's seat and reached over to unlock the passenger door. Heero got in, buckled his seat belt and then turned to face him. Duo started the car and tried to avoid making eye contact.

"Duo."

"Yeah, what?" He stomped his foot on the clutch and reached out to grab the shift knob and put the car into gear but was prevented by Heero's sudden steely grasp of his arm. He involuntarily looked up and saw that the Japanese agent was frowning.

"Turn off the engine for a minute," Heero said coolly. Duo furrowed his brow before reluctantly shutting off the car. He stared down at the Mustang logo in the center of the steering wheel and felt the inevitable tension start to gather between his shoulder blades.

"You took an oath of service to the Mobile Suit Interception Unit," Heero said plainly. "It is your job to train with and excel in piloting the Preventer Taurus Mobile Unit. So what's your problem?"

Duo saw his knuckles whitening as he throttled the steering wheel. He knew this conversation had been inevitable, but he still wasn't looking forward to having it. He could feel Heero's stare boring into him.

"I don't have a problem. I am just not feeling too hot, okay?" Duo replied defensively.

"Why can't you just tell me the truth?" Heero asked with a hint of frustration.

Duo blinked and looked over at him. Heero was frowning, his cool expression gradually shifting into that of annoyance. He was unfastening his seat belt.

"I'm telling you the truth," Duo blurted, but it was too late. Heero had reached over to grab him by the shoulder and had turned his body so that he had to face him. He felt himself stiffen as the Japanese agent forced their eyes to make contact.

"You're scared," Heero said slowly, his expression flat and without mockery. Duo scowled.

"I'm not afraid of anything!" He replied defensively. Heero tilted his head and glared at him through his thick, brown bangs. Duo immediately felt intimidated. The fact that Heero could intimidate him with a single look pissed him off. He put his hands on Heero's chest and attempted to shove him back. Heero let go of him and gave him his space.

"Don't think you can bully me," Duo growled. "I'm not fucking scared, okay? I just don't like it. I don't fucking like it, all right? I don't want a computer in my head. Why can't I just pilot how I used to? Why can't I just go manual? I perform better on my own. I do better without Wing-One raping my brain."

Heero appeared to be absorbing his words. He turned to look out the windshield at the empty level of the parking garage. Duo waited and watched as the former Wing pilot seemed to be trying to think of what to say. Finally after a short time Heero turned to rest his gaze on him. He seemed hesitant to speak.

"Preventer has required that all pilots perform with the new system. They asked me to develop it for a specific reason. You were right to think it was similar to ZERO, but it isn't the same. ZERO was created to assist the pilot in reaction time, as well as to help the pilot project strategies and predict all possible outcomes before allowing for the pilot to choose. Wing-One was developed with similar neural technology, but it is limited to reaction time and performance enhancement." Heero stated hesitantly.

Duo felt extremely uncomfortable even talking about ZERO, and hearing the former Wing pilot explain the ultra-invasive system in his own words was chilling.

He watched as Heero took a deep breath and was struggling with something. It seemed to Duo that he didn't want to have to reveal more than he needed to. It was unusual to see Heero this conflicted. Duo waited patiently as his partner worked through his thoughts before continuing.

"Preventer wanted something that could enhance the pilot's capabilities, but also monitor their intentions. They needed something that could back up their mission statement. The only way would agree to having a mobile suit arsenal to assist them was to install a fail safe." Heero finally said, his voice low and lacking his usual assurance.

"So… what? Wing-One is a fucking leash?" Duo said incredulously. "Are you saying I can't pilot without it?"

Heero nodded. Duo couldn't help but laugh bitterly. "Are you fucking kidding me? Why didn't you tell me this shit before?" He was angry. Heero had been so high and mighty a few minutes before when he was talking down to him about lying about his feelings. All the while was keeping this whopper of a secret from him!

"It's classified. No pilots initiated after myself are supposed to be aware of the fail safe in the system. My deactivating it during your battle the other day was a sleight on my part and I was issued a written reprimand for it." Heero explained. Duo felt the hairs on the back of his neck begin to stand on end as his frustration and irritation with Preventer lunged back to the surface. He was initially impressed that they had finally consented to having mobile suits as a force for peace. That had been one of the major motivating factors for his return to the organization. He cursed himself for even thinking they had seen reason at all.

"I don't get it. Why have trusted agents, then? Why take the time to screen them and train them if you are just going to spy on their minds? Why bother have a sack of meat in the pilot seat at all, then? Why not just make mobile dolls and be done with it?" Duo ranted.

"Mobile doll technology is illegal. This was the only way they could make a justification for an enhanced mobile suit technology. Relena presented it to the-"

"Relena? Everything she stirs with her hand always ends up a shitty mess." Duo interrupted with a bitter scowl. He watched as the Japanese agent's eyebrow twitched at the insult. "So now she is the head of Preventer, too?" He sighed and threw his hands up. "I can't get away from this Total Pacifism shit."

Duo could see Heero was getting tense. He saw the muscles of his jaw tightening with every word. "Why did you join an organization for peacekeeping if you don't believe in the mission?"

"Because I don't know how to do anything else!" Duo spat the words out as if they burned his tongue. The admission had been the cap on his bottled emotions. Once it had popped off the rest of his thoughts could do nothing but pour forth relentlessly. "I suck at everything else. I don't know how to be normal. I can't stand having a basic nine to five job. I am not happy unless I am fighting, or in danger or getting the shit beat out of me." He hung his head and stared down at his lap. "I joined up again because I missed it. I missed the high of getting a mission, engaging the enemy, and fighting alongside you."

Duo took a deep breath and bit his lip. He could rant for days about how shitty life had been without Heero around and without being able to don the comfortable coat of a soldier.

 _Even if I have to be a policeman for peace I will do it. I don't care. I just want to feel normal again_ , he thought dejectedly.

A car had pulled into the parking garage and parked a few spots away. They sat in silence as its occupants disembarked their vehicle and vanished toward the elevator.

"I built you a mobile suit because I felt you could handle it." Heero seemed to have gathered himself and was speaking with his usual conviction and confidence. "I can't imagine fighting alongside anyone else. I don't blame you for not wanting to use Wing-One. I know it is intimidating, but if I didn't think you could handle it I wouldn't have asked you to be a pilot."

Duo saw him reach a hand out to rest on the car's center console. His long, calloused fingers were turned upward with his palm exposed.

"Duo, I would never ask you to do anything I wouldn't do myself," the Japanese agent said firmly.

Duo breathed in through his nose and exhaled lightly from his mouth. "Yeah, I know." He dropped a hand down to grasp Heero's and squeezed it. "Okay, fine. If they wanna see my thoughts, let 'em. I can't be responsible for what they find, though."

The corners of Heero's mouth twitched up to form a smile. "God help them."

/ Author's Note: Thanks again for the criticisms, compliments and words of encouragement! I am having a lot of fun writing this fic, and I hope you guys are enjoying the story. I promise I have this entire plot outlined and I intend on finishing it. I won't leave ya hanging! Enjoy, and thanks again! /


	21. Chapter 21

"What is this stuff made out of, anyway?" Duo asked as he pulled his recently cleaned flight suit out of his locker. Heero was a few lockers away in the L3 CPD hangar locker room fishing out his own identical black flight suit.

"It's a prototype synthetic material woven with a combination of electrostrictive relaxor ferroelectric polymers* and ionic artificial muscle." Heero replied as he draped his own suit across a nearby bench and began to strip off his Preventer uniform.

Duo had been doing the same. He had shucked off his clothes and was sliding his feet through the legs of his suit.

"So it uses electromagnetism? That's weird, because when that ball was shaking the shit out of me it felt more like static." He zipped up the front and tossed his braid over his shoulder. He watched as Heero was carefully slipping into his suit with his back to him. He saw a few bruises still colored the former Wing pilot's shoulders.

Duo closed his own locker and paused to lean against it for a moment. He watched Heero get situated and began to take in all of the lines and curves of the other pilot's body. It had been a while since their encounter in the hotel, and while he had thoroughly explored Heero's body at the time there was nothing more alluring than Yuy in a flight suit.

"I am not sure what happened there. We will have to check the flight recorders to see if there was a malfunction with the actuators." Heero said. He had gathered his clothes and was neatly folding them before putting them into his locker. Duo couldn't help but smile. He tore himself from inspecting the other pilot's backside to finish the task of putting his boots on. Heero had closed his locker and took a seat on the bench to do the same.

"So what is the deal with the suit, anyway? I know that it is supposed to help with the blood flow and to prevent loss of consciousness, but why the added electromagnetism? Why bother at all when a regular g-suit works the same but with less engineering?" Duo asked as he turned to drink from the Coke he had brought from the restaurant they had eaten at an hour before. Heero had finished with his boots and had stood up.

"The suit has the ability to conduct a weak electrical current that stimulates muscle receptors, as well as to enhance your cognitive performance." Heero explained. Duo finished his soda and tossed the cup into the nearest trashcan before following the former Wing pilot out of the locker room.

"So, did you come up with all of this technology yourself?" He asked as Heero led him away from the L3 CPD hangar and toward the docks where the ships were moored. They passed by a security gate and through a hall to the hatch that led to the Preventer cruiser.

"No, not by myself. The Wing-One system was actually Noin's brainchild; I only provided my knowledge of ZERO to assist her. The flight suits were designed by Howard."

Duo nearly tripped over himself as he stepped through the hatchway that led into the Preventer ship. "Howard? Wait a minute. He helped you build these suits? And he didn't tell me?"

Heero hadn't slowed down. He passed through the hatch and into the Preventer ship. There was no gravity on board so as he stepped through his body began to float casually down the hall. Duo let himself lose contact with the floor before shoving off of the nearest wall to follow him.

"Howard didn't know we were developing them for mobile suits. He doesn't know that the Taurus exists. We hired him to just develop the flight suits, though I am sure he suspects what we are using them for." Heero finally replied. He floated toward a small, nondescript door and began tapping in a code to unlock it. Eventually the keypad beeped and the door clicked open. Duo followed as Heero slipped inside.

There wasn't much in the room, and the setup was modest. Two replica pilot seats were propped in the middle of the room back to back with thrust controls and maneuver pedals. Two black Wing-One immersion helmets were strapped to a desk shared by a computer. There was a large cylinder in the room that looked similar to a water heater. It had tubes and wires running from it to the underside of the pilot seats. The lighting in the room was surprisingly dim. Duo closed the door and saw Heero had vaulted for the computer and was beginning to boot up the simulation program.

"Sit down, I'll be there in a moment." Heero instructed. Duo frowned and took a deep breath. He still didn't like the idea of working with the Wing-One program, but now that he knew that he didn't have a choice in the matter he decided not to prolong his anticipation. He pushed off the door frame and floated to one of the pilot seats and grabbed it. A humming sound began to emanate from the seat as he neared it. He felt a pulling sensation as he backed up towards it and suddenly it sucked him in and held onto him firmly. He willed himself to relax as he waited for Heero to finish whatever he was doing at the console. Finally he saw him grab the helmets and glide across to hand him one before slipping into the seat behind him.

"Put your helmet on. We are going to start with a preliminary calibration of your suit and your wavelength with Wing-One, then I will join you in the system." Heero instructed. Duo frowned and looked down at the shielded helmet.

"So wait, when you join in what happens? This time will I get to hear your thoughts?"

"Yes."

"Have you done that before?"

"Once, with Noin when she first tested me. You will be able to hear all of my conscious thoughts, the same that I could for you when you were connected during the battle."

"Jesus," Duo whispered to himself as he slipped the helmet over his head. He stared into the darkness and waited to Wing-One to activate. He couldn't help but feel unsettled by the idea that he would be able to hear what was going on in Heero's head. Sure, he had spent years now trying to figure out what the guy was thinking, but now that it was just going to be handed to him he wondered if it was even right to be so inundated into someone's mind.

Wing-One's glowing orb appeared before his eyes. He heard a humming noise from all around him and felt the suit tightening on his arms and legs as it established his baseline.

 **Pilot Duo Maxwell, verified.**

"Wing-One, perform initial calibration and tests." Duo could hear Heero's voice from outside of the helmet as the Japanese pilot addressed the system.

 **Calibration test initiated. Performing optical tests.**

Duo's eyes were suddenly bombarded with bright blips of color flashing in his face. He squinted against them and waited for it to complete. Finally everything dimmed and he was being shown the image of the Taurus floating in empty space. Duo stared at it for a second before squinting to zoom in at a small white number stenciled on its chest that read "PR-BA-O1".

He realized he was looking at a simulation of Heero's Taurus suit, which appeared to be identical to his own. The suit was in humanoid mode and appeared to be hanging in stasis waiting to be activated.

 **All tests complete. Beginning training simulation PR-T013.**

Duo watched as the stars in the background behind Heero's Taurus MS shot off into the distance to be replaced by the ruddy, lifeless face of Mars. Heero's Taurus continued to hang motionless in front of the planet for a few moments before its square central eye illuminated with a neon green light.

Duo felt a strange feeling overcome him as if a stranger were sitting too close behind him. He felt a peculiar tingling sensation in the back of his neck. The tingling began to spread slowly throughout his spine and then out to his extremities. His fingers and toes stung and he felt suddenly breathless.

" _What the fuck was that?"_

" _ **We've been paired. Now you need to wait for synchronization."**_

Duo tensed. " _What's that mean?"_

 _ **"Be patient. Wing-One, begin dual-pilot mode."**_

Suddenly the suit contracted and Duo felt a small shockwave against his chest. His lungs overinflated and his heart skipped a few beats before falling into a heavy, slower rhythm. His breathing eventually evened out.

 **Pilots bonded and synchronized. Preliminary checklists complete** , Wing-One chimed in.

" _ **Now we are completely fused,"**_ Heero's voice was slipping through his thoughts as if they were his own. Duo felt the urge to tense and be panicked but his body couldn't comply. He continued to breathe normally and sit in the seat relaxed. He felt as if this was old hat to him. He was completely comfortable with having the Wing-One system manipulate and probe him. He knew that this feeling was not what he would normally feel, but he couldn't actively change the calm that had overtaken him.

 _Is this how Heero is feeling?_

" _ **Yes." He can't lose control with me attached to him. He needs to trust me. I would never let anything happen to him.**_ Heero's emotions came into his mind not as words but as raw feelings.

Duo suddenly felt a strong sense of determination tighten around him. He felt comforted by it and was immediately inclined to put his blind trust in it.

" _So what's the mission?"_ Duo asked. He watched as Heero's Taurus suit pulled its dual buster rifle from its back and faced toward the planet.

" _ **We're going to take out a few stationary probes and satellites orbiting Mars. Nothing too intense. We will need to spend a few hours a day practicing this bonding before it becomes second nature."**_

 _That sounds boring,_ Duo thought as he slipped his hands over the thrust controls and pedals. Wing-One had projected his targets on a map on screen.

 _ **If he hadn't have freaked out during the last battle I could have let him do more**_ **,** Duo felt Heero's thought passing through him as if by osmosis. It made him feel extremely guilty about failing at this system the first time.

" _ **Stop dwelling on it. Focus on the assignment. The more you let your mind wander, the more you will let it distract us."**_

Duo nodded and tried to focus on the menial task at hand. He locked on to the nearest satellite and began to fly toward it. " _I can take it out any way I want to?"_

" _ **Yes. Attack at will."**_

Duo unsheathed the beam saber and sliced the satellite as he passed it, leaving it floating behind him split in two. He was suddenly taken aback by a dual image in his mind. He had attacked the satellite, but he also could recall what he looked like from a third person point of view as he did it. _I can see what Heero sees?_

" _ **To a point, yes. I watched you from my vantage point as you destroyed the satellite. You saw it with your eye, but you can also see it through my mind's eye as well."**_

Duo was taken aback as the realization of how completely innovative and immersive this system actually was. He would be able to listen to Heero's thoughts, feel if he was in trouble or needing assistance, coordinate attacks and plot course without ever having to say a word.

 _ **Now he understands .**_ Duo felt Heero's relief overriding his own overwhelming emotions. _**"You will need to build your ability to do this gradually. It is like any muscle; you have to work it out. Take out the rest of the targets and we will take a break."**_

Duo nodded and made quick work of attacking the targets. He tried not to think of anything but destroying them, which was difficult. He had never considered himself a dreamer before now, but it had been difficult for him to focus his thoughts and remain on target. He knew it was something that he had to work on.

" _ **Good. That's all for now, lets break. Wing-One, dual-pilot mode disconnect."**_

Duo felt a strange pulling sensation at the spot behind his eyes. It was as if a pressure had begun to build there. He started to feel his temples ache.

 **Dual-Pilot mode cancelled. Initiating bond disconnect.**

The pressure behind Duo's eyes suddenly deflated and a sharp, burning sensation coursed across his torso. He could feel the flight suit pull into one final contraction before loosening its grasp on him. He felt like something had been ripped straight out of him. He was once again left breathless. He gasped and gulped a few deep breaths before reaching up with unsteady hands to take off his helmet. The pilot seat began to loosen its hold on him and he began to float off of the seat a few inches from the lack of gravity.

Heero had disconnected from his own seat and had floated around to hang in the air beside him. Duo saw Heero's helmet float slowly by behind him.

"I wasn't expecting it to be like that," Duo said with a sigh as he let his own helmet float up into the air towards the ceiling. Heero had crossed his arms over his chest and was studying him with his usual analytical cobalt gaze

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I wasn't expecting your mind to feel that way." Duo tried to find the words but he couldn't seem to express himself the way he intended to. "I don't know."

Heero hung in the air in silence for a long moment before he reached out to grab the backrest of Duo's seat. He saw him pulling his body closer so that their eyes could meet. "No. Just tell me what you mean," the Japanese pilot said.

Duo shrugged. "I have only ever been in my own head, and so my normal isn't your normal. You know what I mean? You're just so calm and collected. I can't think straight to save my life."

Heero's eyes began to shimmer with amusement. "You are definitely chaotic. I was starting to get a headache."

Duo scowled and reached out to shove the Japanese pilot roughly by the shoulder. In doing so he knocked Heero loose from the back of his seat and sent him free floating into the air. The push had dislodged Heero but also had knocked his own body backward. He floated slowly toward the opposite side of the room. His forward momentum didn't stop until he bumped into the stationary computer table nearby.

Heero hadn't attempted to correct himself. He let the force of Duo's push project him across the room. He landed on his knees on the wall on the opposite side.

"Let's play a game," Heero said in a monotonous voice.

"Oh, shit!" Duo couldn't help but laugh as he grabbed the edge of the desk and steadied himself. Heero had dug his feet into the wall behind him and had launched himself across the room in his direction. Duo pulled at stationary desk and managed to yank himself out of the way before Heero could slam into him. He managed to maneuver himself under the desk and chuckled.

"Too damn slow, as usual." He said in a mocking voice. He saw Heero's fingers grasping the edge of the desk before the Japanese pilot launched himself off of the wall behind it to swing down towards the underside where Duo had been holed up. Duo grinned and shoved his boots into the wall behind him as hard as he could in attempt to propel himself away and towards the opposite wall. He had just cleared the desk when he felt a firm hand snatch his ankle. His trip through the air was suddenly ended with a jolt as he was yanked backwards. He careened backward and landed hard against the wall just beside the desk. Heero was floating beside it with one hand grasping the lip of it to steady himself. He had reached out to press a hand on Duo's chest to keep him from bouncing off of the wall.

"You were saying?" Heero said with a smirk. Duo laughed. It had been a long time since they had horsed around. When they were kids during Operation Meteor they would often mess around in hangers with no gravity. Heero had taught him many things about tactical hand to hand in conditions like this**. Often their advanced games of tag ended with someone having to fix the victor's Gundam.

"I said, you are too damn-" Duo's words were smothered by Heero's mouth against his own. Duo felt his face grow hot, and then scolded himself for being so ridiculously pliable in the Japanese pilot's hands. At this point Duo knew he would do anything Heero would ever ask of him. The Japanese pilot released the desk and had grabbed the front of Duo's flight suit. He pulled him closer. Duo let his hands grab the back of Heero's suit. He forced their bodies to crush together. He was suddenly painfully aware of how tight the suit was against his crotch. He groaned into Heero's mouth and licked at the other pilot's lower lip. He felt the Japanese pilot twitch against him as his breath hitched. Suddenly Duo felt Heero's hands race up to the back of his neck. Duo tried to force his tongue into Heero's mouth but was interrupted by a sharp yank of his hair from behind. Heero had wrapped the length of his braid around his hand and had given it a sharp pull. Duo gasped as the seal he had made against the other pilot's mouth was broken.

"C'mon…" Duo pleaded as Heero smirked.

"Work first. Play later." The former Wing pilot untangled his hand from Duo's hair. Before Duo could protest further Heero had launched off of the nearest wall to glide back towards the simulator.

"Are you fucking kidding me? How are you going to get me all worked up like that and then expect me to focus?" Duo whined. He reluctantly kicked off the wall and let himself land heavily in the pilot seat. The Japanese pilot was floating toward the ceiling to gather their wayward helmets.

"Depending on your performance, we will see what your reward will be. Just try not to fuck anything up."

"I'm going to fuck _you_ up," Duo said with a grin as he took his helmet from him.

"We'll see," Heero said with a smile.

Footnote:

* "Ferroelectric materials, like ferromagnets, have dipoles that can be aligned and a Curie point above which they lose their permanent polarization." Ferroelectric polymers can undergo dimensional changes in response to a field, and these can strain by up to 10%. (Not that any of this is important; I just thought it was interesting.)

** "The enemy gate is down."


	22. Chapter 22

/AN: Happy New Year from Southern California! Also, the result of the wager in this chapter was decided by coin flip./

Part One: SLASH

Duo didn't know which was worse: Heero winning out on their little bet and having his pride hurt, or the fact that his uncontrollable moaning was echoing loud as hell against the hollow metal walls of the Preventer ship. He bit his lip and grit his teeth in attempt to stifle the lusty porn star noises leaping from his throat. That same throat was being licked and nipped by his companion pilot, who had wasted no time pinning him on his back against the ceiling to fuck him senseless.

Zero-G sex was always a challenge. Duo recalled many impromptu interludes in hangers and ships that had resulted in bumps and bruises from being too distracted by the moment and forgetting about basic laws of physics. Over time they had become old pros at it.

He had managed to hook his hands into two evenly spaced grooves in the ceiling where the cold metal panels had been welded together. It was bitterly cold, and without the protective coating of the flight suit his skin was starting to sting. He groaned again and then winced at the sound of his own voice booming around them. He could feel the Japanese pilot's body trembling with each thrust as he worked his way closer to climax. Duo felt Heero's hand clench around his hips tightly as he rocked firmly in and out of him.

It had been a while since Duo had let anyone fuck him. In fact, Heero was the only person to ever do so, and he couldn't remember the last time he had let him. He vaguely recalled a time during the Eve Wars and had decided that had been the last time. Their sexual encounters generally were a toss up and there was never a discussion about who was on "top" unless it was a result of a wager or a bet. Heero had been a good sport to start off slowly for him, but now he was clearly caught up in his own rhythm and it was starting to hurt. Precum just wasn't that great as a lubricant, but Duo didn't want to ask him to slow down. He didn't want to interrupt whatever sensations Heero was feeling. His face in the moment was absolutely breathtaking.

Heero's orgasm face was the only reason Duo was letting him pin him to a freezing cold ceiling in the missionary position. He would give him anything as long as he got to see it. Currently that face was flushed and the tops of his cheeks were a dusty pink. His normally taught jaw line was completely relaxed and his lips slightly parted as was trying to chase down his climax. Duo knew he was getting close. He could tell from the pace, and the way his partner's abdomen began to flex. He just wanted to touch him. He wanted to run his fingers through his hair and press his hands against his tight, trembling back and shoulder muscles but if he let go of his handholds now he knew he would get knocked clear across the room.

Suddenly Heero tensed and roughly shoved deep inside him and fell still. Duo could feel the twitch within him as he came, followed by a spreading warmth from inside. When he looked up at his face he was greeted with the sight he had been waiting for. Heero's expression of relief, pleasure, lust, and longing was all culminated into one half-lidded expression. Duo couldn't help but moan at the sight of it. He watched as the former Wing pilot violently tensed and then hung his head and tried to catch his breath before disengaging from him. Duo released his hold on the ceiling and grabbed the other pilot's face with his hands and kissed him. Heero's lips were deliciously warm.

Part Two

Every day for a week Duo worked with Heero in the simulator to strengthen their dual-pilot bond. For hours they went through different types of simulations. Some were basic reconnaissance missions while others were formulated specifically to have no positive outcome*. It had been exhausting and frustrating for Duo. Heero never seemed to get tired from it, but then again he had spent a good chunk of his adolescence attached to a similar type of invasive system.

They had just finished a particularly difficult scenario that had involved a warship with a fleet of enemy Virgos when someone knocked on the door. Heero abruptly ended their connection just as Sally had floated into the room. Duo pulled off his helmet and saw that her expression was grave.

"I just got a call from Director Une. You are to deploy immediately." Sally reported, her eyes flitting from Duo to Heero. "L1 has been attacked."

Everything after that was a blur. Duo had run down to the hanger to load his Taurus MS onto the Preventer cruiser and soon after they had unmoored from the spaceport they were on their way towards L1. He had called Wufei to let him know he would be gone and had asked him to watch Milo for him.

The trip to L1 would take approximately twelve hours by standard commercial shuttle, but with the Preventer cruiser and its priority airspace it would only take around nine. They would pick up Heero's mobile suit on arrival.

Two hours into their journey Une had sent them the details of the attack. Heero had pulled them up onto a laptop in the cruiser's galley and was scrolling through the data. Duo floated up behind him and began to read it over his shoulder.

Three hours ago the L1 colony cluster had been attacked by an unlisted number of enemy mobile units. The estimate was over a hundred. A grainy image captured by one of the colony external surveillance cameras had been attached. It didn't look like the ball suits Duo had encountered during the L3 attack. Instead he could make out a faint grey outline that was distinctly humanoid. The suits had originated from the northernmost cusp of the dark side of the moon. Duo watched a map illuminate the monitor. The suits had approached L1 and had made a direct attack on all freighters moving between the moon and the colony. Four commuter shuttles from the Lunar base had been attacked as well, resulting in 76 civilian and resource miner casualties. They then began to fire on the L1 itself but were warded off by the colony's defense systems. Earth had sent two hundred intervention corvettes to try and ward off any further attack on the colony. The rest of the Lagrange points were under heightened alert. The Lunar base was on lock down with no ships cleared to approach or leave.

"I thought that Cadence guy was working with people on L1, and the L3 CPD had figured out that the weapons were being manufactured there?" Duo asked over Heero's shoulder. Heero reached up to close the laptop and then sat in silence, clearly deep in thought.

"Something must have happened within their ranks. It seems like a coup."

Duo frowned and reached up to rub his forehead. "Man, seems like every day this damn case gets more complicated."

"Whatever it is, we need to be ready for it. Get some rest," Heero said coolly. He glided out of the seat and vanished out the door towards the bunk room. Duo frowned as he watched him go before pulling himself down into the chair. He clipped the belt across his lap to keep from floating away and opened the laptop. Heero had left the information from Une on the screen. He skimmed it before closing it out and opened a chat window. It had been more than a week since he had spoken to Hilde. He had sent her the odd text message or dumb Internet video but he felt the weight of his impending battle settling upon him. He didn't know what they were about to fly into, and he wanted to make sure he got to talk to her before he went in. He wanted her to know he was thinking about her. He started to write her a message:

 _Hey, just wanted to drop you a line. I don't know if you saw the news today but L1 was attacked. Heero and I are on our way to assist. Hope you are doing okay. I miss you. After this all blows over let's try to get together again. Don't worry too much about me, I still am the best pilot on this side of the galaxy.**_

He sent the message and then sat back and stared at the blank screen. He had been so busy working with Preventer he had lost touch with her. The same thing had happened when he had first joined up. He frowned, closed the laptop and then rested his head on top of it. He could feel his braid floating in the air behind his head.

Wufei had been right. Preventer demanded everything you could give. All of his time and energy had been devoted to training with Heero. He sighed and realized that despite that fact he hadn't been this happy in a long time.

He closed his eyes and listened to the faint whirring sound of the ship moving through space towards its destination. He felt completely at home here, headed towards a clash with an unknown enemy.

 _I'm so fucked up_ , he thought ruefully.

He couldn't believe he was here. It felt like he had been passing through the last few weeks in a haze. He had fought with Heero at the spaceport, and all it took was the Japanese agent's kiss to change his mind. He had devoted his own time and energy into helping Heero with his case. The other pilot hadn't even asked him to. He had taken his job back with Preventer just to be with him. He had spent every waking moment since then training with him. He had neglected to contact his friend because he had been so preoccupied.

Duo frowned and sucked in a deep breath as he recalled Relena's expression again at the hospital. Something had happened there and he just couldn't forget how Heero stood up from the wheelchair and looked at her. Heero had promised to tell him what had happened between them, but Duo had been so distracted with battles and the Taurus that he had forgotten to bring it up. Why did they even break up in the first place? Duo couldn't bring himself to believe that it was all because of Dorothy Catalonia.

Duo had fallen into his old, comfortable routine of following Heero around helping him after that. The sad part of it was that he found happiness in it. Despite how affectionate the Japanese pilot was to him in private there was little else that indicated that they were a couple.

He never gushed about Heero to Hilde. They never did anything romantic for one another. Duo had no idea when Heero's birthday was, and Heero had never asked about his. They didn't buy presents for each other, or arrange to go on dates or to the movies like Duo had done with Hilde. They never lay in bed and talked about their favorite color, or what they hoped would be in the future.

Were they even in a relationship? Just because Relena had dumped him didn't mean that Heero had moved on to him. As far as Duo knew Heero didn't have any interest in anything as far as relationships went. They had never sat down and discussed it. The idea of asking Heero if he was his boyfriend made his face grow hot with embarrassment. He couldn't even imagine referring to Heero as anything other than his partner.

 _Ugh… I am so … fucked up…_ Duo thought again, his fists clenching. He didn't know why he was thinking about this. It wasn't like he wanted any of it to change. The reality was he didn't need to be called someone's boyfriend. He didn't need presents or dates or romantic outings. He didn't care if Heero thought they were in a relationship or not. He just wanted to be there for him. He wanted to fight alongside him and support him.

He groaned and grabbed at the back of his own head with his hands. He knew that he sounded like a desperate fan girl but he couldn't help it. Heero was his Relena. He believed in everything the guy did.

Duo shook his head and forced all of his ridiculous thoughts out of his mind. Now wasn't the time to get mushy and stupid about something like that. He straightened his back and pushed himself up to a sit. He unbuckled the strap across his lap and floated up into the cool air. With a kick he propelled himself towards the bunk room.

Heero was lying on his back on a top bunk with the thick foam strap pulled across his torso to keep him from floating away. His eyes were closed and his hands were cupped behind his head. Duo slipped into the room and went to take the bunk under him but paused. He looked up at the other pilot and wondered what it was about the Japanese pilot that had him so infatuated.

The first time he had seen Heero Yuy he had shot him. Twice.*** He remembered the look Heero had given him as he got up from being shot. He could remember the chilling, dark determination in his eyes. Duo had been instantly intrigued. Here was such an intense guy with a mobile suit just like his own on the planet. Duo had broken him out of a military hospital shortly after that. He had told himself it was because Heero was another Gundam pilot. There was something comforting about the idea that he wasn't alone in Operation Meteor. However, it hadn't taken him long to realize that Heero was more than just another pilot. He was _the_ Wing Gundam pilot, and he would be the one to save them all. They had been together off and on ever since.

"What are you staring at?" Heero's low voice broke the silence and startled him. Duo frowned and went to duck for the bottom bunk but was blocked by Heero's hand appearing beside his face. He looked up at the hand and then saw Heero had propped himself up with an elbow and was watching him. He didn't need him to say anything. He carefully pushed against the floor and floated up to the top bunk. The Japanese pilot pulled the foam back and scooted over to make room in the narrow bed. Duo thumped down beside him on his back and reached over to fasten the strap across their chests.

He could hear Heero's deep, slow breathing beside him. Duo sighed, closed his eyes and resigned himself to the fact that he no longer cared what it was he and his partner had. He just never wanted it to end.

* e.g. Kobayashi Maru.  
** He made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs.  
*** He did. The worst Heero ever did to him was punch him. (Now who is the bad guy?)


	23. Chapter 23

Duo watched as the rear hatch of the Preventer ship opened to reveal the chaotic battle playing out in the span of open space between L1 and the Moon.* Wing-One zoomed in on the scene to reveal images of the colony being surrounded by Earth-Sphere protection forces in the form of cruisers and ships. They were attempting to ward off swarms of enemy mobile suits. He scanned to identify them and found that they were grey Virgos and Taurus models similar to his own. However they were moving around at alarming speeds, which was one of the first indicators that they had to be mobile dolls.

"You seeing this?" Duo asked aloud as his Wing-One constricted and squeezed his body in preparation for launch.

" _ **Yes. Mobile dolls. We are trying to get a count on them. They are coming from the dark side of the moon."**_ Heero's voice came into his mind, though Duo couldn't feel his presence. Heero's mobile suit was late to arrive so Duo was going to have to go at it alone for at least an hour. The Japanese pilot had been noticeably unhappy about it. Instead of going out on a smaller shuttle to meet the ship bringing his suit Heero had told Sally he would stay. He was currently in the simulation room on the computer tapped into Wing-One like had done before from the hospital. Heero could only talk to him mentally and experience Duo's emotional side of the immersion.

Duo let his fingers ghost over the controls as he powered up the engines and began his preparations for departure.

"You will be assisting the L1 CPD units," Sally's voice said over the cockpit COM. Duo nodded before taking a deep breath. He tried to convince his body to relax but he just couldn't seem to find his sweet spot. It didn't feel right being connected to Wing-One without Heero's pairing and bond. In the hours they had spent working with the system for the past week Duo had come to rely on Heero's pervasive and ever present calm in battle. He had been using his partner as a crutch.

" _ **You'll be fine,**_ " Heero's voice permeated his thoughts, but the composed stillness that normally accompanied his words was missing.

Duo frowned and tried to steel himself against the anxiety building in his limbs. Wufei had been right, he was getting too old for this.

"Pilot 02, ready for launch," he said aloud.

"02, cleared for launch. Be safe out there." Sally replied over the COM. Two bright green spinning lights sprang to life on either side of the open hatch indicating he was free to leave at will. He leaned back into the sucking grasp of the pilot seat.

"PR-GD-02 departing," he said assertively and then boosted out of the hanger and careened out into space with a trajectory towards the heart of the battle. As he got closer to the clashes he could see that the L1 Colony Protection System was raining sheets of beams down on the enemy suits. The support ships from the Earth-Sphere were stationed between the swarm of grey mobile dolls and the colony. They were sending volley after volley of bright yellow and red blasts into the continually reforming wall of mobile dolls. The various colony CPD Virgos were flitting about throughout the scene taking on the enemy one on one. In the throng Duo could see the ball suits that had attacked him before clinging to the CPD Virgos and slamming into the sides of the Earth-Sphere ship defensive line.

Friendly cannons were blasting up from the surface of the moon. Enormous wads of flickering light shot up into the space between the colony and the Lunar surface, striking clusters of mobile dolls and igniting them into bright auras of electrically charged light.

As Duo approached he transformed his suit from flight mode to its humanoid mobile suit form. His mind was everywhere. He couldn't stop thinking about Hilde on L2. If the enemy were originating from the dark side of the moon they would probably make L2 their next target. Was she on the colony or was she on Earth? What if he dropped sync with Wing-One like he had when the balls had attacked him? Would Heero have to intervene again? He started feeling the burning reminder of his embarrassment about that whole situation light up his cheeks within the helmet.

He could feel the connection with Wing-One fading in and out with each individual thought. His anxiety was surprisingly fresh and severe. He had never felt this anxious going into a fight before. He was actually feeling fearful, and it was angering him. He hadn't felt scared or even nervous when he was getting into the cockpit. When the alarms went off for them to get to battle stations on approach to the scene he had felt elated at the idea of getting to pilot his mobile suit. So why the hell was he feeling so intensely nervous about basic maneuvers now?

He grit his teeth and tried to focus on an incoming pair of Virgo mobile dolls. Their grey visages appeared washed out and drab against the bright explosive battle behind them. They drifted toward him like lifeless phantoms. He involuntarily tensed at the sight of them and then scowled and unsheathed the beam saber. He slammed his hands against his suit's thrust controls and forced the Taurus to lunge at the enemy at a breakneck speed. He felt his body sink deeply into the pilot seat and began to feel the familiar numbness of losing himself to Wing-One. He rolled and dashed around the enemy suits, avoiding their beam rifle blasts before slicing them each in turn.

Another five Virgo mobile dolls were shooting at him from a distance. He shot backwards away from them, switched directions abruptly and fell into a zigzag evasion pattern to avoid their rifle shots. He knew he could use his own long ranged weapons to attack but he felt more comfortable fighting close combat with the saber. It wasn't as efficient as his old beam scythe had used to be. Deathscythe's reach had been longer and the sweeping arc of his scythe could do more damage than this saber could, but he knew that he could adapt.

He had finally found his stride. Heero hadn't said anything to him in a while but Duo knew he had to be watching him. He picked his way across the battlefield for a few minutes disposing of mobile dolls and careening out of the way of friendly fire from the Lunar surface.

He was just starting to build his confidence when his external sensors picked up something on approach. He had no visual. Within a second he realized what was going to happen but his suit couldn't avoid the inevitable snatch of a long cable-like arm. It had wrapped around the arm that held his beam saber and kept him from swinging out in defense. The enemy had uncloaked to reveal a trio of ball units surrounding him. He tried to propel away but was lashed down by the legs and torso by six cables. He could see the glowing red engine particles around him glowing brightly as they started to boost in opposite directions. His Taurus began to creak and groan in protest.

He heard a distant buzzing and started to panic. His emotions were on the cusp of losing control and were feeling peculiarly amplified. He felt as if a thin thread tied him and Wing-One together. As the balls pulled at his suit the thread was being pulled taut and threatened to snap. The display in his helmet was flickering, not from the impending buzz of the ball suits, but from the weakening of his sync with his suit.

He attempted to transform his suit as Heero had done before. His suit moaned as it tried to fold itself.

 **Flight Mode Not Possible** , Wing-One alerted.

" _ **Try reversing direction a few times to see if you can shake them off,"**_ Heero's cool voice finally wove itself through his frantic thoughts.

Duo bit his lip and tried to shift his own boosters to see if he could throw the balls off of him. He pivoted and attempted to spin while thrusting upward. They moved with him for a moment in attempt to regain control but were tossed in a circle. The ball that had lashed his beam saber arm lost its connection and went flying in an arc away from him. Duo used his freed arm to cut away the other two ball's restricting cables from his torso and leg and shot away as fast as his suit could go to give himself some space to breathe. His body was trembling in his tightened flight suit and the visuals Wing-One was providing him were fading in and out.

" _Fuck. Why the fuck am I so scared of those things?"_ He scolded himself as he glided to the outskirts of the battlefield and began anxiously checking his scanners for any more cloaked attackers. _"What the hell is wrong with me?"_

" _ **I have an idea. Wait there for a minute."**_ Heero replied. Duo took a few deep breaths and tried to calm himself. He could feel his heart fluttering in his chest and his palms were sweaty in his gloves. _**"I think I know what is going on. In the process of analyzing your intentions Wing-One is amplifying your emotions."**_

Duo frowned. _"So it's hindering me yet again. So now what? They aren't going to let me pilot this thing with it turned off. What the hell am I supposed to do?"_

" _ **Relax. I want to try something different with you. Just until I can get out there to help you."**_

Duo scowled and waited in silence, staring out at the pandemonium of the battle he had retreated from. He was angry. He could feel that anger stewing within him at an unfamiliar intensity, even for him. He knew he had a temper, but not to this extreme. Maybe Heero was right about the Wing-One system pulling at his emotions and magnifying them. It would explain why he felt so fearful under conditions that were relatively mild.

Abruptly the heavy silence that surrounded him in the helmet was filled with the sound of distant Gregorian chanting and bells. He blinked. _What the hell?_

Suddenly a voice spoke over the speakers within his helmet and said, _"why don't you ask me what it feels like to be a freak?"_ He nearly jumped out of his skin as he immediately recognized the abrupt crushing electric guitars and galloping bass notes to one of his favorite songs. " _Demon Speeding_ " by Rob Zombie was enveloping his ears.

" _ **This is the album you listen to when you work out, right?"**_ Heero's voice was barely discernible through the waxing and waning of drums and violins. Duo let out a barking laugh, shocked that Heero even noticed something like that.

" _Sinister Urge**? Yeah, but how-"_

" _ **I found it on your laptop. Use this. You are the most focused person I have ever seen on a treadmill when you listen to this."**_

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Heero never liked to work with music playing. Duo often used music to help him focus when they wrenched on the mobile suits, and this discrepancy was often a topic of contention between them. Now here was his partner, who normally grumbled and complained about his noisy habits, providing him with one of the more thunderous albums he owned.

He couldn't help but smile at how thoughtful Heero was acting. _"Okay. Yeah, let's try this."_

He sucked in a deep breath as the shadowy lyrics began to fill his mind.

' _Hey, do you love me I'm untouchable darkness  
A dirty black river to get you through this  
Hey, do you love me I'm a devil machine  
Get into my world all American dream'  
_

He let his thoughts lock onto the words and the raw beat of the song. He could feel Wing-One pulling him in again. The thin thread fastening them together was beginning to galvanize.

He scanned his surroundings and saw a pair of L3CPD support Virgos being tethered by three ball units. He didn't even hesitate to lock on and head toward them. He directed the Taurus down into a nosebleed dive towards the conflict.

' _In the mouth of madness  
Down in the darkness  
No more tomorrow  
Down in the hollow_

 _Demon Speeding…  
Demon Speeding…'_

He forced the Taurus to its limits and could only vaguely feel the crushing forces of the maneuver. He made the suit dance around the ball suits, hacking and slashing at them with renewed confidence. He let the music fill his thoughts and let his unconscious perform the task of fighting for him. He could pilot a mobile suit in his sleep, and having the hypnotizing effect of the music seemed to alleviate the stress and overload of emotions he was experiencing before. He no longer felt like he was losing connection with Wing-One.

One song after another fed his fight. He had begun to lose count of how many suits he had taken out. Eventually there was a lull in the fighting as the mobile dolls had begun to retreat in the direction of Mars.

"Come back to regroup. Heero's Taurus has just arrived." Sally's voice was dulled and distant. He complied and began to return his suit toward the Preventer ship. He could see another smaller freighter had docked onto it. He transformed his suit back into flight mode and landed it inside the large cruiser.

Duo drifted into the Preventer ship's main hall. Sally was free floating there with a protein shake in a sealed pouch for him. She handed it over with a smile.

"Well done," she said brightly. "I haven't seen you pilot like that in a long time."

Duo smiled and saw Heero float out of the simulator room behind her in his flight suit with his helmet tucked under his arm.

"You ready?" He asked coldly, evidently not expecting Duo to protest.

Duo grinned and sucked the last of his protein shake down before handing the empty pouch back to Sally.

"This time we listen some Black Sabbath." Duo said cheerily as he floated up beside the other pilot. Heero crossed his arms, a smile ghosting across his face.

"Whatever you say."

.

* Based off the Earth-Moon model of Legrangian/libration points.  
** "Sinister Urge" by Rob Zombie was released November 13, 2001. It is a mix of heavy and industrial metal with influences from horror and suspense films.


	24. Chapter 24

Part One

Duo felt the familiar and uncomfortable tingle of Heero's presence as it descended upon him. Wing-One had paired their thoughts, bonded their emotions and synchronized their vital signs. Duo felt the sudden quiet dampener that was his partner's mind settling over his own varied and disconcerted thoughts. It felt like a weighted security blanket settling against his shoulders. He sighed with relief as the presence immediately soothed him.

He had missed having this feeling when he had gone out on his own. Through the simulator Heero couldn't bond or synchronize with him in the Taurus on the battlefield, but now that his fellow pilot was in his own mobile suit and within range they could make the complete connection they had been training with before.

He wondered why Heero's emotions seemed to override his own when they were fully bonded. Every time did the other pilot's stillness had always stifled his own internal chaos.

 _Must be because of the Newtype brain thing,_ Duo thought. He recalled Relena's stern expression as she had banished him from interfering with Heero's recovery.

The usual quiet that was Heero's presence within him had stirred at the memory. Duo felt a hint of irritation and realized that he had revealed something to the other pilot he hadn't known before. By allowing the memory from that afternoon in the hospital to surface into his own stream of consciousness he had inadvertently dropped a pebble onto the motionless surface of the other pilot's mind. Now it was rippling with agitation.

" _ **I'm not a Newtype,"**_ Heero's voice chilled his mind. **Why would she tell him something like that?** Duo could feel a hint of anger from Heero's thoughts rising to the surface followed by what he could only assume was disappointment and desperate sadness. He hadn't felt anything like that from the former Wing pilot through Wing-One before. It was unsettling.

 _Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-_

" _ **Not right now. We'll talk about this later."**_

Duo felt heavy with guilt. He narrowed his eyes at his suit's controls and tried to focus on the task at hand. He had forgotten how easy it was to let thoughts wander and how risky it was to do so. Normally his internal monologue had hardly any influence on Heero. This time he had mentioned Relena and that had been a huge mistake.

 _Shit, sorry._ He realized he had thought of her again. He frantically grasped for something else to think of while they were being cleared to depart.

"3.1415926535897932384626433…uh…" he muttered as many of the digits of Pi he could remember.

" _ **8327950…"**_

 _That's all you got? Guess you aren't the supercomputer everyone thinks you are_. He smirked and watched as an updated mission plan began scanning across his eyes. He could feel Heero's influence begin to settle back into its standard mission-oriented equanimity.

The details of the mission were rather straightforward. Protect L1 and assist all CPD Virgo forces. They were to standby while the Earth-Sphere developed a further plan. Currently the enemy mobile dolls had retreated in the direction Mars, past the moon and L2. They were too far off for them to detect their exact position.

 _So we just wait until they decide to come back?_ Duo was skeptical. _Why not target their source. Didn't they come from the dark side of the moon? Let's go over there and check it out._

" _ **We need to follow orders."**_

 _Well, the orders are stupid. We're Preventer, we work independent from the Earth-Sphere._ Duo couldn't help but huff in frustration. They were wasting his abilities keeping him hanging out in the ship like this. He was raring to go.

"Pilots 01 and 02 prepared for departure," Sally's voice said over the COM. "You will be assisted by Fire."

"It's nice to see you two finally made up," came a familiar female voice over the COM. Duo blinked. He could feel a sense of uncharacteristic surprise from Heero. They both knew Noin's throaty voice when they heard it.

"Yeah, well Heero is like a bad rash. He just keeps comin' back." Duo said with a grin. He heard Heero sigh. Noin's laugh rang out over the COM.

"Well let's get to work. I promise not to get in your way," Noin replied.

"Sure, sure. I'll make sure to leave some for you." Duo said brightly. He watched as the hatch in front of him began to open to reveal the vacuum of space. He could see another Preventer cruiser nearby. Wing-One automatically identified and tagged the suit as 'PR-LN-FIRE'.

"PR-BA-01, taking off." Heero said monotonously. Duo saw his suit launch out of the docked shuttle and pass Noin's cruiser. The lights from his own hangar glowed green, indicating that he was clear to launch.

"PR-GD-02, going to kick some ass!" He exclaimed enthusiastically as he powered the Taurus quickly out of the hangar to follow Heero's Taurus. He saw Noin's cruiser follow and begin to tail him as they shot towards the L1 colony. Duo could see the idle battlefield ahead of them. The space between L1 and the Moon was littered with debris and shrapnel from both sides of the fight. As they neared the colony Duo could make out the blackened splotches of beam attack and gaping open gashes of saber assault on the hulls of the Earth-Sphere support and intervention cruisers and corvettes. All was still, dangling lifeless in space as if someone had accidentally pressed the pause key.

 _Wow. The colony took a real beating, didn't it?_ Duo studied the monstrous holes that had been blasted through L1's outer walls. He could see the faint movement of construction suits flitting about just beneath the surface attempting to control the spread of the damage.

Duo felt a strange sensation he had never experienced during a bond creep across his spine. His chest felt heavy. Heero was emitting despair.

 _Hey, you okay?_ He wished he could do the same for his companion and cover his negativity with his own emotions but he couldn't seem to reach that far. Duo saw Heero's Taurus stop just in front of a blasted-out hole in L1. He floated up close behind and surveyed the damage.

 **If they are capable of this we won't be able to stop another attack without letting them damage the colony. We need to meet them out where they have regrouped. We can't let them get within an accurate aim of this place. I can't let them kill all of these people. I can't let down my friends. I can't let Relena down. I have to protect them…**

 _Heero?_ Duo felt a strange, rigid tension in his throat.

"Yo, Heero? Hey! Hey, listen to me!" He could barely keep up with the barrage of thoughts pouring into his mind from the former Wing pilot. Heero's brain was moving a mile a minute and each thought was riddled with paramount anxiety and urgency. The tightening in Duo's throat was growing. He gasped and involuntarily let out a sob despite the fact he had no tears to shed.

When previously in sync with Heero Duo had always felt calm. His heart rate had never felt this fast before. His breathing was getting ragged. He knew that Heero was losing control and panicking. He had never experienced this side of his fellow pilot before, within Wing-One or through normal interaction. He knew he had to do something.

 **Why can't this stop? Why do people have to continue to fight? When will the colonies have a chance to live their lives without this needless suffering? How much longer must I do this? I don't want to have to kill anymore.**

"Heero…Come on, man." Duo managed to choke out between his strangled, involuntary sobs. "Aw … fuck…" He realized speaking aloud with his audible voice just wasn't going to work. Not with the physical state Heero had inadvertently put him in. He forced his thoughts as intensely as he could out into the forefront of his mind, hoping to break through to the former Wing pilot.

 _Listen to me! We can't let the Earth-Sphere waste time trying to come up with a plan. Write something up and send it to them directly. Fuck these orders, let's get some assistance and make a barrier to keep them from coming in close to the colony._

He felt oddly uplifted by Heero's sudden stream of fretfulness. He knew that it was now his turn to provide support for his partner. Now it was time for him to be Heero's rock for once.

 _Don't worry, buddy. I got you._ Duo swung his Taurus around Heero's and shot off past the fields of debris and began to plot a beeline for Mars.

" _ **What…?"**_

"02, where are you going?" Noin's voice blasted out from the COM.

"Sorry, but I'm gonna take this fight to 'em." Duo said wickedly as began shrinking away from them.

 _Now you don't have to worry about breaking orders, Heero. Your crazy ass partner just went off the deep end again. Catch me if you can!_ Duo smiled as he felt the choke hold of Heero's anxiety slip away. It had been replaced by warm, tingling affection.

"02, return that suit to Preventer otherwise we will be forced to override your system." Sally's irritated voice spoke out across the COM.

"Wing-One? What are my intentions?" Duo asked aloud.

 **Pilot 02 intends to take the fight to them,** Wing-One reported dutifully.

"And?" Duo requested.

 **He has run out of fucks to give,** Wing-One added.

Duo smirked and leaned back into his seat with a happy, almost mad chuckle.

"Ya might wanna call in some backup." Duo said as continued on his course. "Wing-One, give me some tunes."

"Fuel" by Metallica** had begun to play at an ear splitting volume throughout the cockpit. It drowned out any remaining protests that were coming over the COM.

"Pilot 01 in pursuit of stolen Preventer mobile suit." Duo could hear Heero faintly through the speakers beneath the bass and electric guitars.

Part Two

The enemy units had retreated towards Mars but had stopped and were gathered right at the edge of L2 long range scanners. Duo slowed his progress as he began to detect the masses of mobile dolls floating lifeless in neat rows. He settled his suit between them and the L2 colony. Heero's had finally caught up and floated beside him.

" _ **I am scanning 214 mobile dolls in total."**_ Heero's voice said in his head. Duo stared in awe at the haunting scene. Two hundred and fourteen wasn't that grand of a number in comparison to the thousands of suits he had encountered in his career as a Gundam pilot. However, Duo knew that the disarmament of the Earth-Sphere was putting them at a disadvantage. The fact remained that what little protection they had against the mobile dolls had been limited to manned craft with standard issue weapons only.

It was the thing Duo had feared would happen all along. It was the very situation Preventer had been established to work against but had clearly failed to stop. As much as he wanted to see the world a peaceful "Kumbaya" kind of place where people like he and Heero were no longer needed, he knew that it could never be possible. People were cruel. He had seen it time and time again. He would never let himself be a sheep to peace. He wasn't going to walk blindly into the slaughter.

 _214 isn't that bad, but there must have been at least twice that when the first wave attacked. If this is all that is left…_

" _ **We need to find out where they are being controlled from."**_

 _Somewhere close, because they can't be that far out of range, right?_

" _ **Exactly."**_

Duo checked his monitor and scanned the area within what he assumed was a reasonable distance for someone to be controlling a fleet of mobile dolls. The only things he could see within range were the moon and L2. Just as he was about to close the menu something blipped onto the screen a great distance away from them just past the inactive line of mobile dolls.

" _Heero, I got something here."_ He let his mind's eye take in the growing oblong form creeping across his scanner display.

" _ **I see it. "**_ Duo felt tense. He knew it had to be a combination of his own tension and Heero's as the blip on his monitor continued to grow.

"01, apprehended 02 and stolen suit. Identified location of enemy mobile dolls. Unknown object on approach. Requesting backup. Sending coordinates," Heero said into the COM.

Duo could see the enormous object now completely silhouetted on his scans. It measured nearly one kilometer long and was moving excruciatingly slow. He watched as it was turning and inching along the edge of his monitor, rather than directly at them. Another blip appeared just behind the line of inactive mobile dolls. Suddenly all the suits lined up before them came to life.

 _Did you see that?_ Duo stared at the now empty spot where something the size of a large shuttle craft had just been. _You thinking what I'm thinking?_

The mobile dolls began to move forward towards them. Duo grabbed at his thrust controls and began moving his Taurus backward. Heero was right alongside him.

" _**Whatever that was is the control center, and it interrupted its cloak and signal jamming as it activated the mobile dolls."**_

 _BINGO._ Duo pulled his suit into a rounded trajectory back towards the incoming mobile dolls. _We kill the Queen Bee, and her drones will go down with her,_ Duo thought gleefully. He felt very relaxed and under control. He deactivated his music. He didn't need it to help him focus. Having Heero's bond was enough. He could feel his pulse slowing and his breathing deepening as they maintained their synchronization. He felt Heero's trademark focus enveloping him, straightening his thoughts out for him and prioritizing his energy.

 _If we go after it now, you will be going against orders. They said don't engage._

" _ **What do you think we should do?"**_

 _Fuck 'em up._ Duo felt Heero's wordless and thoughtless consent.

" _ **Alright. Wing-One, prepare for Join sequence."**_

 **Dual-pilot bond preparing for Joining.**

Duo felt energy beginning to sting his arms and legs. He groaned as arcs of electricity shot up his suit and began biting the very neurons of his body and brain.

Something clicked and the scenario they had only attempted in simulation finally activated. They _Joined_.

Both suits shot down and pierced the hoard of mobile dolls in unison. Rather than working as two separate units they began moving as if they were the right and left hand of one entity. Duo no longer had his own thoughts, and Heero's no longer penetrated his mind. They weren't individuals. It was as if they had compartmentalized into a single mind with their individual energies fluidly passing from one suit to the other. To achieve and maintain a Joining they had to remain in very close proximity to one another.

Both pilots knew what they had to do, and directed the Wing-One system in their individual suits accordingly. They had 'become' Wing-One: a single unit comprised of two moving parts.*

Duo felt nothing. His body was being crushed into the seat and experiencing forces he hadn't felt in simulation scenarios, but his mind was no longer his own. There was no pain. There was no sense he had a human body at all.

The Joined Taurus suits moved with blurring speeds that surpassed even those of the mobile dolls. Speeds that, without their specialized flight suits, would have surely killed the pilots inside.

They made their way through the ranks of mobile dolls, laying waste to any suit that crossed their path. They slid through the battlefield in a blur, leaving total annihilation in their wake.

Being Joined in Wing-One had a time limit. It would only lasted for three minutes before it automatically deactivated. They would need to reach the cloaked mobile doll control shuttle before the three-minute mark.

A minute and twelve seconds into their Joining Noin had finally caught up to them. Behind her were assorted units of CPD Virgos for support. They all fell into the fight seamlessly, attacking the nearest opponents.

The Joined Taurus suits had approached the area the control shuttle had been last detected. They readied their dual buster rifles in unison. Light began to glow from the barrels of the rifles as they readied to discharge.

"Preparing to fire in fifteen seconds," both Heero and Duo's voices spoke the words in unison over the COM.

"Everyone back out of here, now!" Noin commanded over the COM. The CPD units began to scatter and retreat away from the space around the joined Taurus suits.

The seconds ticked by and the light from the rifles began flickering and intensifying. Both suits separated their dual rifles into two separate pieces and held them aloft. Finally at the fifteen second mark they fired simultaneously and crisscrossed the entire open space with four separate flashes of light.

Something appeared as it was struck. A rectangular shuttle had been attempting to retreat from the scene but was caught in one of the buster rifle strikes. It exploded on impact and vanished from existence. In doing so it took its command with it. The mobile dolls engaged in attack with the CPD Virgos and Noin's Taurus immediately deactivated and fell still.

The three-minute mark came and went and the once Joined Tauruses were now floating lifelessly among the deactivated mobile dolls with both pilots blacked out inside.

*Noin's true brainchild. Inspired by a design Zechs and Treize had wanted to develop in their youth but didn't have the technology at the time to achieve.  
** Because CKHUSHRENADA is totally right, mobile suits don't need to refuel.


	25. Chapter 25

" _ **I will always have to fight..."**_

 _He saw Relena standing on a balcony, looking over the Cinq Kingdom from the heights of her estate. She was grasping the railing tightly with both hands; her shoulders were coiled with tension. He wanted to touch her and take her worries away. Why should one person have the all weight of the world on her shoulders? It was her birthright to bear this burden. He approached her and grasped her tight shoulders as gently he could. She leaned back against him and turned so that half of her hardened face was visible to him._

" _You don't have to do this," she said in a calm but small voice._

" _ **There isn't any another option. I'll fight if they need me."**_

" _I feel the same way."_

" _ **A year, then."**_

" _Yes. A year."_

Part One

Duo was shaken awake by the sensation of his own muscles twitching uncontrollably. He couldn't see anything. Wing-One had been deactivated at the end of his intense Joining with Heero. He sucked in a shaken breath and tried to lift his quaking arms. He felt half-empty, as if part of him were still strung out across the battlefield. He coughed and tensed as his stomach cringed. He felt nauseous, and a sharp metallic taste had filled his dry mouth. His entire body ached as if he had been run over by a semi truck.

"Duo? Duo can you hear me? Please respond?" Sally's voice was pleading over the cockpit COM. Duo reached a trembling hand up to fumble with his visor. He finally managed to open it to reveal the dimly lit cockpit. He could see Sally's face in the corner of his monitor staring up at him worriedly.

"Hey," he said weakly. "I'm not dead yet." He looked down at his scanners and noticed activity on his monitors. He saw an explosion blossoming across the darkened lunar face. A bright flash of red and orange light was glistening up from its blackened surface. Dust from the lunar surface was being kicked up from the blast and large chunks of rock were careening up and out into space. "Wh… what is that?" He croaked, his eyes burning as they tried to focus on the monitor.

"A mining ship crashed into the moon. The object Heero called in earlier. A man named Vincent Tull has crashed it into what he claims was a mobile doll manufacturing plant just below the surface." Noin reported over the COM. Duo felt his head spinning.

"Where's Heero?" He asked hoarsely. Upon manual zoom he could see movement by the lunar surface. His partner's Taurus suit was racing across the space between the moon and L2, blasting and slashing enormous asteroids that were threatening the colony. Various CPD Virgos and one of the Earth-Sphere corvettes were assisting him.

"Wh… what?! How long was I out?" He gasped and attempted to move his Taurus towards the action. His suit refused to budge. It was then that he realized two Virgos were holding his suit in place.

"I'm afraid we can't let you leave," Sally said with a hint of hesitation. Duo scowled down at her face in the COM.

"What's the big idea? They need my help!" He exclaimed. He slammed a fist weakly against his control panel in frustration.

"I'm sorry, Duo Maxwell, but I'm afraid you're under arrest."

Part Two

Duo leaned forward in his seated position on the floor and rested his elbows against bent knees. He extended his arms and stared down at the handcuffs around his wrists.

"You're welcome!" He yelled, his voice echoing in the empty hold that had been made into a makeshift cell. He saw one of the CPD officers just outside the door's tiny window shift at the sound of his voice.

He couldn't believe they locked him up.* Sure, he had made off with one of their mobile suits. And yes, maybe he had tinkered around with Wing-One's fail-safe system, but he still felt that they were being a little excessive.

 _Well, I guess they should be scared_ , he thought with amusement as he tested his handcuffs with a firm tug. _I'm pretty good at escaping, and Sally Po knows it._

He stifled a grin and reached up to finger his hair. During Operation Meteor he had been accustomed to hiding lock picks, needle explosives and various odds and ends in his long hair. Soldiers weren't used to guys with braids and always seemed to overlook searching it. Now that times were relatively peaceful he had been keeping it simple. He reached up with both hands and carefully fished out a small, basic lock pick from behind his ear. He turned his back towards the windowed door and carefully began to fiddle with the rudimentary handcuff. He smiled with accomplishment as it faintly clicked.

The door behind him opened. He blinked and shoved the lock pick down the front of his zipped flight suit and kept his hands together with the jointed clasp of the handcuffs loosely closed. He felt a presence behind him. He didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

"Well, now, finally coming to visit me." Duo said cheerfully.

"I'm convinced you enjoy this kind of trouble," Noin's voice said from behind him. Duo stiffened and turned around, confused. He saw Noin standing in the doorway behind Heero, who was standing directly behind him with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Yeah, well luckily for you, I get off on getting caught." Duo replied. He held his hands still and kept his wrists close together to keep up the illusion his handcuffs were completely intact and secured. He saw Noin smile before closing the door on them.

Duo looked up from the floor and studied Heero's face. The other agent was still wearing his flight suit, and he appeared more energized then he had ever seen him.

"Thank you," Heero said firmly and abruptly. Duo blinked. "For everything."

"Yeah, well, don't get all mushy on me about it." He watched as Heero stepped closer. Duo could smell the tart metallic scent that was distinctly his partner as the other agent dropped down to sit cross-legged on the floor beside to him. They sat in silence for a few minutes. The silence was surprisingly calm and Duo felt no awkwardness in it. Finally it was Heero who disturbed it. "They are going to drop all of the charges against you, but you are banished from ever getting back into a mobile suit."

Duo tensed. He balled his fists and took a deep breath. He didn't know what to say. He was angry that Preventer had such power over him and could dictate his life, but he knew the logic behind their decision. He had broken the rules, and they never made exceptions for anyone. He had known there was this risk when he had tampered with Wing-One. He didn't want anyone to be able to interfere with his decisions as a pilot. He felt no regret for his actions.

Life without ever piloting a mobile suit again was a painful thought. He stared down at his balled hands and sighed. Without being a pilot he was incomplete. He knew that now, especially after getting back into the fight in one. He hadn't felt so happy and confident in himself in such a long time, but now he knew he would never feel the same electrifying thrill again.

"Yeah? Well those Taurus suits sucked anyway," he replied, though his statement lacked the bitterness it implied. He could hear Heero snort. "What happened with L2?"

"Ira Tull's father, Vincent Tull, was mining minerals and resources for Leonard Cadence and those who were involved in the manufacture of the mobile dolls. He apparently felt guilty for his son taking the fall for the bombing at the school. Supposedly the bombing was done by Naomi Cadence to cover up that she had stolen research. Apparently one of the professors was working with her and her father to develop a new mounted mobile suit transient electromagnetic disturbance weapon of some kind. They tried to make it seem like the related research was all lost in the blasts at the school. They killed the only people who knew about the study: a student who lived in the dorm, a student in the research lab, and a counselor who had signed off on someone's thesis on the topic. They had targeted the building with your servers to damage them and keep any related data from being found.

L2 wasn't directly involved in any of the manufacture as far as we know. The mobile suit factory was under the lunar surface on the dark side of the moon. Vincent Tull dropped the mining ship on it to destroy it. He transmitted a statement of his guilt and outlined the role of the others before taking his own life. L2 received minor external structural damage from the debris from the crash, as well as mild EMP** deactivation of its external probes and scanners."

Duo nodded and sighed in relief. "Sounds like you saved the day again," he said with a smirk. He could hear Heero sigh, and looked over to see him staring down at the ground.

"Wing-One is being decommissioned." Heero said. Duo blinked and gawked at him.

"What? Why the hell would they do that? That system is amazing! They can't do that. You can't let 'em."

"There's no other option." Heero said in a voice that sounded almost dejected. "I don't think I want to bond through Zero-One with anyone else."

Duo looked at him with widened eyes. "Wait a minute, you are the one who wants to scrap it?"

"I told you before, I can't imagine fighting alongside anyone else." Heero's tone was stern and resolute.

"You can't give up fighting just because I can't," Duo said incredulously. Heero shook his head.

"I will always have to fight."

Duo stiffened at his words. They sounded familiar and he felt a strange wave of déjà-vu sweep through his body. _What did he say?_ He recalled the strange dream he had when he was blacked out during his Joining through Wing-One. He had seen Relena on a balcony. He had held her and spoke to her.

"A year?" Duo said aloud as he recalled the weird exchange he had with Relena.

Heero's head instantly snapped up and his now wide cobalt eyes locked onto him. "What did you just say?"

"A year, right?" Duo gauged the other agent's reaction. Heero was tense and clearly shocked. "I had this weird dream earlier that Relena was talking to me about doing something in a year."

Heero's face was white. Duo swallowed hard. "That wasn't a dream was it?" He asked hesitantly. He watched as Heero shifted uncomfortably before standing up. He walked to the corner of the room and stared at it for a long moment. Duo watched him, confused. _What is wrong with him? What is the big deal?_

"Were you guys going to get married in a year or something?" Duo finally asked. Heero didn't reply. "Is that what you didn't want to tell me? You guys were going to get married and she broke it off?"

"No. Duo, I didn't want to have to tell you this here." Heero's voice echoed off of the wall he was facing. Duo frowned and pushed himself to a stand.

"Tell me what? What's your problem?" He didn't like seeing his friend like this, and having Heero behave this dramatically was disconcerting. Normally the guy just came out and said stuff; good or bad. Duo waited tensely as Heero shifted his weight and appeared to be trying to work up the nerve to tell him whatever it was he was holding back.

"Just tell me. You're my best friend, Heero. I tell you everything. You can tell me anything, man. Seriously. What the hell is going on?" Duo felt nauseous from anticipation. His palms were breaking out into a cold sweat. He was feeling genuinely scared, an emotion he rarely felt. He could fly into a line of mobile dolls and run head on into death without so much as a drop of fear, but having his partner hold something back from him was terrifying.

"I have consented to something. Preventer has offered me a new position…" He appeared to be trying to find the words. Duo frowned. What was he talking about? Duo approached him cautiously and stood beside him. He shook off the handcuffs and let them clatter loudly to the floor before reaching out to grab Heero's shoulder with his hand. The Japanese agent's muscles were rock hard with tension beneath the flight suit and the expression on his face was clearly conflicted.

"Just spit it out," Duo urged him. Heero turned to settle his gaze on him. His eyes were unreadable.

"I am going under stasis. Preventer is developing a new program, and a new mobile suit. A Gundam. When it's completed they have proposed that I go under cryogentic stasis and stay within that suspension until I am needed. It is the only way to protect peace, and to ensure that the Gundam can be used properly when the time comes."

Duo felt the room tilt. He reached out to lean against the wall to steady himself. "Wait… wait a minute. You said cryogentic stasis… as in freezing? You are letting them fucking put you on ice? What?" His voice was trembling. He stared at Heero, shocked. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. This couldn't be real. This sounded like one of those ridiculous, lazy sci-fi plot devices***. Nobody would consent to that. He was going to be sick. He doubled over and coughed.

Duo's knees buckled and he dropped down heavily onto them. His shoulders began to involuntarily tremble. The room was definitely spinning now.

"So… let me get this straight. You think it is gonna be a fun and cool thing to get made into human popsicle for the 'fate of the future'. When are they gonna take you out?"

He saw Heero slowly descend to kneel in front of him. "There is no set date."

Duo couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous this sounded. He chuckled bitterly as he felt his own anger and frustration begin to rise to the surface.

"That is the dumbest shit I have ever heard. You are going to let them freeze you, but you have no idea when and where you will be taken out? For what? So you can be woken up to pilot some Gundam? You really have lost your mind. What about your life? What does Relena say about this shit? Is this why she broke up with you?"

Heero frowned. He appeared to consider his next words carefully before he spoke them. "She is being frozen, too."

That was just the icing on the cake for Duo. He shook his head and looked away from the Japanese agent and began staring holes into the wall beside him. "You guys broke up, but she is going to get frozen for eternity with you? That doesn't make fucking sense, Heero. You two are clearly fucking made for each other. Both batshit fucking crazy."

Heero didn't move. Duo scowled. "You didn't think this was important to tell me before? 'Hey, Duo. Just so you know, don't get fucking attached to me, I am going to be made into a shrimp cocktail in a year,' would have been a nice conversation. You know, before I fucking bonded with you. Before I thought you gave a shit about being my friend, and being my partner."

He avoided looking at the Japanese pilot. He closed his eyes and hung his head. He didn't want to see what his words did to him. He didn't care. His own self-pity was more than he could handle at the moment.

"Just … leave me alone."

He heard Heero sigh before standing up and walking quietly out of the room. Duo waited in silence for a moment and listened as two sets of footsteps vanished away from the cell door down the hall.

 _Wufei was right. Preventer takes everything from you._

* You can't have Duo fighting in a mobile suit without him landing in the brig at least once, now can you?

** Electromagnetic Pulse, caused by nuclear explosion. This can knock out electrical devices and power grids.

*** I'm looking at you, Frozen Teardrop.

/AN: FYI the timeline for this fic and Frozen Teardrop isn't accurate. I am pretty sure there wasn't a year span in-between, but I wanted to give myself some wiggle room to make more shenanigans before Heero gets stuffed in a tube. /


	26. Chapter 26

/AN: All aboard the feels train./

Part One

"So what is it going to be, Mister Maxwell?" Director Une said from behind her desk. "How much more of this back and forth must we do before we finally come to an arrangement."

Duo sighed and stared down at the paper in front of him, pen in hand. He was utterly conflicted. He didn't know whether to sign it or not.

"So, let's go over this one more time. I will still be a member of Preventer, but I will be limited to what?"

"Support services, shuttle and cruiser pilot and maintenance. Normal field work." Une replied plainly. Duo frowned and rubbed the back of his head with his free hand.

"But no mobile suits, right?"

"No mobile suits, mobile suit maintenance or involvement in the technology development of the new Gundam unit. You will have no criminal charges, only the same reprimand Heero Yuy received for disobeying direct orders."

Duo's eyes felt like they were involuntarily crossing as he stared down at the white contract in front of him. The words were all there, and everything Une had outlined had been written out in detail but he still couldn't focus on them. They began to blur and lift off the page. He tapped the tip of his pen on the signature line.

"If I may be frank," Une interrupted, her usual strictly business expression softening. "I know that you don't agree with our policies. You have made that abundantly clear. However, we could really use your talents here at Preventer. Perhaps you should wait to sign this after a short break or vacation. Give yourself time to think about this."

Duo sighed. It had been only three days since the battle against the mobile dolls beyond L2. He had been escorted to Earth and to the Preventer headquarters in Cinq for review. Noin and Sally had provided positive testimony about him. Heero was there but hadn't said anything.

He hadn't spoken to Heero since he had dropped the fact he was going into stasis. Duo had found out through the grapevine that the new Gundam being built at a secret facility was to be completed in about nine months. The thought made him sick to his stomach.

"Yeah, I might just do that." Duo murmured. He set the pen down beside the contract and stood up. Une stood up and saw him out. As he left he caught his reflection in a decorative mirror at the end of the hall. He looked horrible. The skin around his eyes was purple, almost bruised. His cheeks looked even more sunken than he had ever seen them and he could see his collarbones jutting severely through the v-cut neck of his shirt. He recalled Wufei scolding him about needing to take care of himself. How could Wufei be so squared away? Duo admired the former Nataku pilot. He always knew what he wanted in life, and how to achieve his goals. He didn't need anyone to help him, or support him, or encourage him. He wished he could be that way: so focused and self-directed.

He brushed his messy bangs from his own eyes and peered at the person looking back at him. He looked so tired and downtrodden. He frowned, straightened his black t-shirt and pulled the waistline of his jeans up before turning on his heels to trudge for the door.

He knew what he needed. Pizza. Pizza may not fix his problems, but it could damn sure help distract him from them.

"Yo, Duo!" He heard Hilde calling him from the bottom step of the stairs that led up to the Preventer headquarters. She waved and smiled brightly at him. She was wearing a pale yellow top and black slacks with one of her favorite beret-styled hats. He smiled at her and walked down the steps to greet her. She had come to Cinq as soon as she had heard he was under review. He was grateful that she had.

 _She really is too good for me_ , he thought sadly as he approached her. She grabbed his arm and fell into step beside him on the sidewalk in front of the building. It was nearing the end of June and the weather in the Cinq kingdom was mild and warm. A soft breeze was tickling the trees that lined their path.

"So what did they say?" She asked as they strolled. "Did you make a new contract?"

Duo shook his head. "Naw, not yet. Gonna take some time to think about it."

Hilde tugged his arm a little. "What is there to think about?" Duo shrugged. She was staring at him, her emerald green eyes narrowed. He avoided her gaze and stared up at the cloudless sky and sighed.

"Pizza." His stomach grumbled as if on cue. Hilde laughed and shook her head. They made their way into the heart of the town and found a tiny corner pizzeria. After Duo had eaten nearly an entire large pie himself he sat back and looked out the picture window at the bustling European village. An elderly couple was chatting on the corner. A teenage girl was walking her shaggy dog. A young man his age was walking hurriedly past with a bag of groceries. Colorful compact cars rolled up and down the street. Everyone was so blissfully unaware of the danger that existed just beyond the atmosphere. He knew that this knowledge was a soldier's burden. It was one he wouldn't wish on anyone.

 _Let them live life in ignorance_ , he thought with a faint smile. _So that their children can grow up without having to experience same shit I had to. That all the Gundam pilots had to. That most of the colonists had to…_

He took a sip of his cola. His brow furrowed and he began tapping the surface of the table with a restless finger.

"What are you thinking?" Hilde asked. She was seated across from him at the small café style table nibbling on a bread stick.

"I'm thinking I need dessert," Duo replied. Hilde rolled her eyes.

"I didn't come all this way to watch you gorge yourself." Hilde said firmly. Duo turned to face her.

"You didn't? Well that is a shame because I plan on hitting every restaurant on this street before the night's over." Duo said cheerfully. He picked up the last slice of the pizza and bit heartily into it crust side first. She frowned.

"What happened up there? You still haven't told me." She set her bread stick down and leaned across the table to touch his arm. "You got in trouble with Preventer. So what? That isn't a first. You sounded like you were going to cry over the phone when I called you."

Duo took another bite and then discarded the rest of his slice. He forced a smile and shrugged his shoulders. "Just missed ya, I guess."

Hilde didn't seem convinced. She let go of his arm and leaned back in her seat. He could feel her studying his every move. She knew him better than that, but he honestly didn't want to talk about this now. He didn't want to ruin this moment with her.

This was just like things had been before. They would go out and enjoy each other's company. It was something he had never done with anyone else. He felt normal in these situations. He felt like he could actually belonged here, sitting among the living, without them knowing just how dead he was inside.

"Well, I missed you too. So what now? Are you on leave? Maybe we could do some sightseeing or something while I am here? I don't leave until tomorrow night."

He nodded and snatched the half eaten bread stick from her plate and shoved it in his mouth. "Good idea! C'mon, I need gelato!" He exclaimed, his voice muffled by the bread.

He wasn't joking about hitting every restaurant on the street. A gelato parlor, a bakery, a café and a chocolate shop later they had finally cleared that street and started working their way across town. They visited the obelisk in the center of the city's major roundabout that had been erected in honor of the fallen soldiers and civilians of the Eve Wars. They walked through the art district and a farmer's market. They found a junk shop where Hilde had triumphantly found a rare circuit board she had been looking for. Eventually they made their way to a pub by Hilde's hotel room, ordered a few bottles of wine and drank until they could no longer hold their heads up. The last thing Duo remembered they had somehow managed to stagger up to her room and she was taking off her top.

Part Two

 _Everything was covered in ice. Frost had gathered on the surfaces of the computers lining the walls. Enormous, steaming tanks of liquid were standing in the corners of the room. Bodies were lying on the floor wearing Preventer uniforms and lab coats, all frozen as if caught in timeless permafrost. He stepped across the room and picked his way over the dead. His feet crunched through the thick ice on the ground. His warm breath hung chilled in the air in front of him as he made his way towards a black door with a finger scanner. He pressed his index finger against the lens and it flashed a bright blue light. The black door hissed open. He hesitantly stepped inside and saw that the room contained nothing but an icy oval pod lying flat. The light was dim; he could barely make out anything else about it aside from some words written in a language he didn't understand on the side of it. He inched closer to the pod and saw that the top was made of glass. He could just make out a figure lying within it, but couldn't make out the details through the white, glistening frost. He reached out to rub the ice away. As he did a face became visible just inside._

" _Relena," he heard his own voice whisper. He stared down at the serene and peacefully sleeping face beneath his hand. He stood there for a long time, staring down at her. He started to pull his hand back away from the pod when her eyes snapped open. Before he could react her hand shot up through the glass and grabbed his arm. He couldn't pull away. His feet were slipping on the ice. He screamed and tried to fight back but her strength was superhuman. She started pulling his arm into the hole in the glass. He could feel his flesh being ripped away on his hand. He screamed again and thrashed and tried to get away._

Duo fell off of the bed. The fall and sudden impact jolted him into consciousness. He looked around frantically and began feeling his arm, expecting his hand to have been gnawed off.

"Duo! DUO YOU'RE DREAMING! WAKE UP!"

He looked up and saw Hilde standing at the foot of the bed, naked. He gulped in a steadying breath and realized he was stark naked as well. He grabbed the sheet he had torn off the bed with him and draped it over his lap before rubbing his face with his hands. He groaned. He felt like shit. A dull, persistent ache was taunting his brain. His throat was on fire and his stomach was full of acid.

"Oh… shit. I'm sorry." He grumbled into his hands. He heard Hilde moving around the room and when he dropped his hands into his lap she was standing in front of him in her blouse and underwear. Her face was hardened and her shoulders were squared. Duo knew she was about to lay into him.

"Duo Maxwell, what the hell is going on? I am tired of this. You were screaming something about Relena. I knew something else was wrong. Why do we have to play this game every time?" She dropped to her knees beside him and grabbed his face with her hands. He tried to look away from her but she forced him to meet her determined eyes. "No more. You tell me what happened right now."

"Hilde, come off it. I-"

"Right now." She was practically crushing his skull. He winced and stifled a yelp.

"Okay. Okay, just… stop trying to pop my brains out, will ya?" He pleaded. She released his face and sat on the floor beside him staring expectantly.

Duo sighed. It was always this way with Hilde. Once she wanted something she wouldn't let up until he had done it. She had pulled things out of him many times. He gave her a reluctant smile before reaching back to grab his braid. The tie had come off at some point during the night and the end had unraveled. He began smoothing it with his fingers.

"Well?" She urged. He stopped fussing with the braid and swallowed.

"Heero is … he's leaving." Duo finally said. He looked up to see Hilde staring at him, clearly confused.

"Okay. Where is he going?" Hilde asked brusquely.

"Preventer is gonna freeze him." Duo said. The words sounded completely ridiculous. He frowned and began parting his frayed hair into three separate locks before deftly braiding it. "He is going to let them put him in a fucking test tube and freeze him, because he thinks that he will be needed in the future. He thinks he needs to be the fucking weapon that will save the world. They are making him a new suit, and once that suit is finished he is gonna be gone and they don't know when he is gonna come back. I may never see his ass again. How… how fucked up do you think that makes me feel? I mean… my friend… one of my best friends, he is going away forever. Like, it can be literally forever. He might as well be dying. I feel like he is fucking burying himself alive. And he never told me. He wasn't gonna tell me."

Duo gasped. He realized that he had been ranting. He grit his teeth and felt his eyes beginning to burn. He sucked in a breath and squinted his eyes to keep them from tearing up any further.

 _I'm drunk. I just fucked Hilde and now I am crying on a hotel room floor whining about Heero_ , he thought with disgust. _I fucking hate myself for this. Why can't I be fucking normal for once?_

Hilde was watching him in silence. He bit his tongue and grunted, stared at the ground and tried to suppress the choking sobs that had begun to gather against the dam in his throat. He saw her reach out to touch him. He shied away from her hand and shook his head.

"Don't worry about me. I'm just a drunken fool." He said tightly. He sobbed, sniffed and wiped his now watering eyes with the backs of his hands.

"Shut up," Hilde mumbled. She grabbed him roughly by the shoulders and pulled his face down against her chest. That was when he lost it. Having someone touch him had shattered his defenses. His body began to tremble and he began sobbing louder despite himself. He felt her arms wrap firmly around his shoulders. He buried his face into her shirt and began to stain it with his tears. She gently stroked his back as he released a violent torrent of repressed emotions against her torso. He hadn't cried into someone's arms like this since Sister Helen. The memory of the kindly nun, the only mother figure he had ever known, holding him as a child flooded into his mind and only multiplied his tears.


	27. Chapter 27

/AN: Let's take a break from the heavy stuff for a second./

Part One

Duo stared down at the lid of his coffee cup. A faint curl of steam was sprouting from the opening. He wrapped his hands around the base and savored the warmth for a few moments before looking up at Hilde, who had just sat down across from him. She had shoved her nondescript suitcase under the table.

They had been at the airport for a little over an hour. Her flight had been cancelled and her new shuttle back to L2 wasn't set to leave yet. They were passing their newfound time in a coffee shop inside the terminal.

"So, what's the big decision?" Hilde asked before taking a large swig of her sugary coffee concoction. Duo shrugged.

"What else can I do? I guess I'll stay." He replied plainly. She smiled at him and crossed her legs beneath the table.

"You know you like playing secret super agent," she teased. He couldn't help but smirk.

"Yeah, but evidently I am shit at it." He began tapping the table with the flat of his hand and let his eyes survey the busy spaceport.

Despite the previous night's drunken interlude things were back to normal between them. Duo felt guilty for all of it. He knew that deep down he was using her. She was one of the few people who could comfort him. She didn't seem bothered by their arrangement, but it didn't make him feel any better about himself. He took a long sip of his black coffee and pursed his warmed lips tightly. "They are going to make me a desk jockey. I just know it."

Hilde laughed. Her laugh made him smile. "Oh, God. I can't even imagine what that would be like.*"

Duo ran his fingers through his bangs and chuckled. "They should know better than to leave me around a Xerox machine when I'm bored. The last time Heero left me at his desk alone he ended up with the entire Battle of Endor made out of stationary. I even carved these itty bitty Ewoks out of erasers…"

Hilde laughed and took a sizeable swallow of her coffee. The energy of their conversation began to taper off, leaving them in an unusual and somewhat awkward silence.

"Sorry about last night," he said lamely. Hilde shook her head.

"Duo, that's what friends are for." Hilde replied with a sigh. She swatted her bangs from her face and leaned in towards him, her cup grasped tightly between her hands. "You don't need to apologize to me. You didn't do anything wrong."

Duo sighed and lifted a leg up to rest his ankle on the opposite knee. He leaned back into his seat and rubbed at his eyes with his fingers. They still ached from his outburst earlier that morning and his head was filled with the unfocused, vague ache of a hangover. He decided that after Hilde left he was going to go to the gym at headquarters and try to sweat it out.

"Duo, I know you don't want to talk about this, but I gotta say something." She said as she checked her watch for the time. Duo dropped his fingers from his eyes and watched her as she pushed her coffee cup aside and leaned her elbows on the tabletop. "Have you ever wondered if you're… well… if you maybe like guys?"

Duo nearly choked on his own spit. It wasn't the thing he had expected her to say. He straightened in his chair as if he had been shocked in the ass by a cattle prod.

"Eh? What… I mean, why? Why would you ask me that? Was I seriously that bad last night? Normally I get it up no problem, but with the whiskey dick I mighta-"

"No! No, that isn't that at all. No, trust me. That was NOT a problem for you last night. What I am trying to say is maybe you have feelings about someone. A particular guy."

Duo's eyes widened. "Denzel Washington?" He teased with a grin.

Hilde reached across the table to playfully smack his shoulder. "Stop messing around," she grumbled. "I'm being serious."

Duo rolled his shoulders and tilted his head. "It's that obvious," he asked warily. He crossed his arms over his chest and felt suddenly very self-conscious. He could feel his cheeks getting warmer.

"You thought you were fooling people?" Hilde replied. She leaned further across the table. "You're into Heero," she said in a low, conspiratorial tone.

Yep. The cheeks were definitely on fire now. He coughed and rubbed the side of his aching head."… maybe a little…" he muttered.

Hilde's grin expanded from ear to ear. "You like him. You like Heero Yuy!" She was teasing him now. He scrunched his nose and scowled at her.

"So what if I do? Lots of people like him. I mean… look at the guy." Duo took a long sip of his bitter coffee. She was still grinning at him like a madwoman. "Stop looking at me like that," he grumbled from behind the cup.

"Does he know you like him?" Her voice had been rising with a steady crescendo. He saw an older man at a table nearby eyeing them over his newspaper.

"I don't know what he thinks." Duo said firmly. She wasn't convinced.

"Have you… ya know…" She waggled an eyebrow at him. He grit his teeth and wondered how long it would be before he melted into the floor from embarrassment. His face was on fire and his skin had crawled off his body and out the door.

"… maybe."

Hilde's face burst into a blush. She had lifted her hands to her pink cheeks and was staring at him with the widest green eyes he had ever seen. Finally she cupped both hands over her mouth. "I knew it…" he could hear her whisper breathlessly from behind them.**

"Change of subje-"

"How many times?"

"Hilde!"

"Like once or twice?"

"How should I know…"

"THAT many times? Oh my God."

Duo crossed his arms against the table and plopped his head on them in defeat. His face was burning with the heat of a thousand suns and he couldn't take the judgmental looks from the old guy at the nearby table anymore. He groaned loudly against his bicep and closed his eyes. He couldn't believe that she knew and that they were having this conversation. He had never talked to anyone openly about this before, and he wasn't sure he wanted to continue.

He felt her petting the top of his head affectionately.

"You're killing me, Hilde." He muttered into his arms. "Seriously."

"You should talk to him. Tell him how you feel."

Duo shoved himself up and glared at her. She was smiling warmly back. "Yeah, that will go over well. Let me go profess my undying love for some guy who wants to be made into a human freezepop." _Besides, I know who he wants to spend the rest of his life with anyway_ , he thought bitterly.

An intercom rang out overhead announcing that Hilde's shuttle was being boarded. He got up and carried her luggage for her down the hallway to the gate. She kissed him on the cheek and gave him a crushing hug before vanishing down the breezeway to the ship.

"You better call me!" she called over her shoulder.

He waited until her shuttle departed and was completely through the atmosphere before he made his way back to the Preventer headquarters.

Part Two

Duo's feet pounded the belt of the treadmill so hard that the mirror on the wall in front of him quivered with every smashing stride. He could feel his braid whipping against his back, spurning him on. His lungs were burning but he couldn't stop now. His emotions were trying to catch up to him, and he was determined to outrun them.

"Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen*** began to blast through his wireless earbuds. He skipped a little as the beat changed and pumped his arms up into the air a few times before falling into the rhythm of the new song. He changed his pace to match the tempo and tried to catch his breath. He was soaked. He could see his drenched body in the mirror. His black sweatpants and white tee were clinging to his body. Just as he had hoped the residual hangover had seeped through his skin. He was beginning to feel better.

He tried to focus on the song and attempted to ignore the nagging sensation that someone was watching him.

 _Stop being paranoid,_ he thought to himself as he checked the empty room behind him in the mirror.

He closed his eyes and let his thoughts be inspired by the lyrics. His imagination was filling with images of rockets, explosions, and mobile suits blasting at one another.

Halfway through the song he felt the belt beneath his feet beginning to vibrate with each stride. His eyes snapped open. In the reflection of the mirror he saw someone running on the treadmill behind him. Startled he lost his footing and hesitated mid-stride and was tossed backwards into the body of the person who had invaded his space. They were both knocked off of the treadmill and thrown into a haphazard pile of limbs on the floor.

Duo heard a deep, familiar laugh. He pushed himself up off of his face, tugged his earbuds from his ears and looked up to see Trowa Barton sitting on the floor beside him, rubbing the back of his neck and laughing.

"Trowa! Shit, you coulda given me a heart attack!" Duo berated him. He punched the former Heavyarm's pilot in the chest and then immediately regretted it. The guy was built like a rock. He didn't even flinch.

Trowa was smirking at him. He was dressed in the standard Preventer workout uniform that consisted of a grey shirt with the green Preventer logo on the front and a pair of black shorts.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. Who runs on a treadmill with their eyes closed?" Trowa explained, his eyes glistening with amusement.

Duo scowled at him. However, the scowl broke easily and he couldn't help but laugh. Much like himself, Trowa had a penchant for trickery. He was usually more subtle and quiet about it than this.

Duo watched as Trowa stood to his full height. He had thought Quatre to be enormous, but Trowa had transformed into a hulking, ripped rock golem. Duo couldn't help but gawk. The former Heavyarms pilot was reaching down to offer him a hand up. Duo grabbed it but before he could push his own legs against the ground Trowa had lifted him off of the floor and onto his feet with seemingly little effort.

"So, what the heck are you doing here?" Duo asked him as he grabbed his towel from the treadmill and dried the sweat his face and neck. Trowa had crossed his arms over his chest and gave him a small shrug of his massive shoulders.

"I'm here with Quatre. Preventer and the Earth-Sphere now have custody of Leonard Cadence and are forming their own charges against him. Quatre was required to subject himself to direct interviews here on the planet. He is visiting some dignitary or another. I decided to stay in the barracks while he does. Schmoozing trillionaires just isn't my cup of tea," the other young man explained in his usual calm and concise manner. "What about you? I heard you stole a mobile suit."

Duo involuntarily flinched at the idea that there was talk about his behavior, but he knew it couldn't be helped. "Yeah, well… was mission necessary," he explained it off quickly. He saw Trowa's head tilt in acknowledgement. "You know me, I can't behave. You want me to spot you?"

Trowa looked down at the nearby bench press, nodded and then began to assemble an obscenely heavy weight. Duo gaped as Trowa stacked up each side of the bar and readied it on the stand over the bench. Duo ticked off his fingers and then stared down as the former Heavyarms reclined against the bench.

"Dude, that's 280 lbs!" Duo said in disbelief. "I don't know if I am even good enough to spot that."

Trowa chuckled and shook his head. "Don't worry, I won't drop it anyway so it won't be a problem." He was readying his hands on the bar. Duo quickly stepped around to the spot over his head and let his hands hover nearby. As he did he noticed a simple gold ring on Trowa's left ring finger. He blinked and smiled widely.

"Wait a minute, you guys finally got hitched?" He asked cheerfully.

He watched in awe as Trowa pulled the bar off of the stand and extended his arms with it balanced just over his head. Duo tried his best to spot him. Trowa pumped the bar down once before replying.

"Not married, yet. Engaged." Another pump.

"What? When?" Duo asked. Trowa took a deep breath and was steadying his arms. He pressed out another lift before holding the bar with his elbows locked in extension.

"Four days ago." He replied plainly. He returned the bar to the stand and took a deep breath. Duo could see a few dark pinpricks of sweat forming through his grey shirt. Trowa's lips curved up into a pleased smile. "He asked me while I was working on my car. I asked him to hand me a cam bearing and he handed me a ring instead."

Duo smiled widely down at him and leaned his hands on the fixed bar. "Man, it's about time. When's the big day?"

"We were going to wait a year, but Quatre really wants to do it before Heero and Relena go into stasis," Trowa replied. Duo could see him looking up at him from the bench with his dark green eyes. It appeared he was gauging him for his reaction. Duo wasn't going to willingly give one. He felt his body tense but he forced his best apathetic expression and nodded.

"Probably a good idea," he said quickly. "So am I invited?"

"Of course," Trowa had pushed himself up to a sit. He rubbed the palms of his hands together before looking back up at him. "I hoped you would be one of my best men Quatre's side of the aisle will be full of Maganacs and sisters."

Duo nearly jumped with excitement. "You mean I will be THE best man. Hell yeah. Does this mean you get a stag party? Let me arrange it. By the end of the night you'll be swimming in those little cocktail umbrellas!****"

Trowa laughed and nodded. "I'm looking forward to it."

Duo couldn't stop smiling. It was great to see them finally making things official. Trowa and Quatre had been together for as long as Duo could remember. During Operation Meteor they had met on the battlefield and had been inseparable ever since. They definitely complimented one another in ways Duo admired in a couple.

Quatre appeared to be a supportive boyfriend, and would make special considerations for Trowa whenever possible. The fact that they were engaged over fixing an engine just proved it. Quatre had legions of people working for him. He wouldn't need to wrench on a car, but he knew that Trowa found enjoyment in it and more than likely provided a space for him to do those kinds of things and had joined him. The fact that Trowa was here and not forced to sit in stuffy dinners and parties also confirmed what Duo had always suspected; that Quatre encouraged Trowa be himself.

"So, make sure to keep your schedule clear in about three months time," Trowa added.

Duo grinned. "Yeah, you know I will."

There was a palpable lull in the energy of the room and Duo pushed off of the bar. "You done?"

"For now," Trowa replied coolly. He watched as Trowa stood up from the bench and straightened his shirt. "How long are you going to be here?"

"I don't know," Duo replied honestly. He hadn't given it much thought but now he knew he would have to give Une his answer soon. Then who knows where he would be assigned. More than likely he would stay here in Cinq, which meant he would have to change, up everything in his life again. He decided if he got stationed in Cinq that he would take some time to go back to X-18999 and say goodbye to everything and everyone he was leaving behind. He would have to figure out what to do with Milo. He didn't want to subject the cat to traveling to the planet.

Trowa walking across the room towards him pulled him out of his thoughts. The former pilot grabbed him by the shoulder and smiled down at him. He was fishing his phone out of his pocket.

"Life is too short to hold grudges," Trowa said firmly. Duo blinked and stared up at him, perplexed. "Especially when we are living on borrowed time. Don't waste it."

Duo swallowed hard and nodded. Trowa clearly knew what was happening with him and Heero. He rubbed the side of his face with the palm of his hand and sighed. "Yeah, you're right…"

"I'll be here for the next week or two. You have my number?" Trowa asked. Duo shook his head. He had lost all of his contacts when he got his new phone. He scrambled to get it out of his pocket and exchanged his new number with Trowa. They made a tentative plan to meet the following day for lunch before parting ways.

* Little did she know there was plenty of fan fiction online on the subject.  
** Hilde is a fujoshi.  
*** I'm gonna bet that this would be Duo's theme song if he had one.  
**** Miss you and your crack-Trowa, Ederyn Kushrenada!

/AN: I also want to point out that all of the references to weddings, stag parties, new Duo Preventer assignments and events that are occurring before Heero's plunge into stasis will be written in a companion series to this fic. My plan is to finish this one off, epilogue it and then go back and fill in the blanks with a series of short stories about the events during that time. If I write it all out in this thing it may easily end up at 300k words.../


	28. Chapter 28

_Who is this guy?_

 _Duo stared down at the image of the strange kid he had met at the naval base strapped to an examination table. His eyes were closed and all of the monitors attached to him indicated that he was unconscious. He cursed under his breath and wondered how he was going to get the guy out of there while he was knocked out cold._

 _He had managed to get this far out of sheer luck. Nobody had suspected anything of some random kid with a backpack wandering around a military hospital so far. He knew eventually that would all change, especially now that the Alliance had caught this other pilot who was just a kid like himself._

 _Duo had been shocked to find another Gundam on the bottom of the ocean. He had spotted some OZ activity and had gone to investigate with Deathscythe under cloak to see what they had been up to. He had never expected to see a suit just like his own just lying there in the murky water._

 _It had been set to self-destruct, so whoever had left had been pretty desperate. Luckily he knew how to deactivate it, and he couldn't help but take it with him. The Sweeper in him was chomping at the bit to get a look at the thing. He hadn't known at the time who it belonged to or where it came from. All he knew was if worse came to worst he could use it for parts._

 _He had originally made plans to steal a navy ship to transport both his Deathscythe and the mystery Gundam, but that was all blown out of the water by the kid lying on that table._

 _Duo had stumbled into the guy as he was threatening some girl with a gun. He was holding her there at gunpoint and muttering nonsense about how she knew too much._

 _Duo didn't much care for bullies, so he had shot him in the arm to save her, but then the crazy broad got all pissed off and starting trying to help this psychopath. Duo knew he should have just turned and ran away then, but he had been stunned._

 _Then the kid got up and tried to shoot at HIM. Well, he had to shoot him again to keep him down. Meanwhile this chick was yelling at him and going crazy about it. Clearly she was ungrateful that he had stuck his neck out for her._

 _Shoulda just left him there, he thought with a smirk. But then the crazy fucker tried to blow up their suits. Both of them._

 _Duo huffed with irritation. This was what he got for trying to help someone and be a nice guy._

 _He couldn't tear himself away from the monitor. He had a few minutes before the guard shift changed. He planned to set off some explosives he had set up in the hallway. He studied the calm, collected face of the kid on the monitor. He was wearing the dumbest clothes, and Duo was convinced he may be a serial killer… but he couldn't look away. Ever since he saw him he couldn't stop thinking about him. He was a Gundam pilot. He was intense, fearless and clearly suicidal._

 _What was his mission? Was it the same as his own? Where was he from? What was his name? Where did his mobile suit come from? He just had to know._

Part One

Duo was yanked out of his dream by his alarm clock screaming beside his head. It was 0600 and he had a meeting scheduled with Une at 0700. He had decided to accept her offer and take the new assignment.

He stretched his arms and legs out and winced at the loud cracks and pops from his joints. He was sore all over from his workout on the treadmill and the subsequent fall against the Great Wall of Trowa.

 _Oh yeah, lunch._ His stomach snarled up at him but he ignored it. He had plans to meet up with the former Heavyarms pilot around one for lunch.

He took a deep breath and stared up at the radiant yellow sunlight spilling from the curtains into the small single bed barrack room. The bed was narrow but surprisingly comfortable and he was having trouble talking his aching muscles into getting up.

He shifted his weight and felt his boxers pulling uncomfortably against his crotch. He reached down and tugged at them. He was hard. He sighed. He didn't want to have to walk to the communal bathroom with this uncomfortable, albeit spectacular, morning wood. He wiggled deeper into the bed to get comfortable, splayed his legs apart and let them dangle over the sides and closed his eyes. He yawned widely and snaked his hand casually down into his boxers and gently caressed the underside of his hard-on. Upon contact he involuntarily twitched. It was much more sensitive than it normally was. He took a steadying breath and wrapped his fingers gently around his hot arousal and let his mind wander.

His first thought was of Hilde. He couldn't remember much about the night they had shared in the hotel room. He fished through that murky part of his mind and pulled out the image of her standing over him naked. She really did have an amazing body. She was casually fit and always pleasantly clean. He took another deep breath and let himself get lost in the friction of his hand. Hilde was gorgeous, and smart and funny. She was perfect. He wasn't worthy of her.

The self-deprecating thought caught him off guard. He froze and frowned. His mind started going off on a tangent about how she could do better than him. That she deserved a better guy than he could ever be. He started to feel guilty about the other night and, despite her willingness to keep things casual, he wanted so much more for her. He just couldn't give it to her. Not while he was so conflicted with this shit with his life, his future and with…

His frown deepened and his brow furrowed. His thoughts had betrayed him once again. He was about to get up and take a cold shower when his phone rang. He reached over with his free hand to grab it from the head of the bed and answered it without looking at the incoming number.

"Hello?" he croaked, his throat unusually dry.

"Where are you?" Heero's flat, matter-of-fact voice tickled his ear. Duo blinked and felt his muscles all tighten at once. He felt his hand tighten around his hard-on, which had twitched beneath his hand at the sound of the Japanese agent's voice.

"Uh…" Duo's mind went completely blank. "Why?"

"Duo," Heero speaking his name in his smooth voice sent a shock wave through him. "I need to talk to you."

Duo stared at the ceiling. His mind was completely blank. "I dunno-"

"Preventer is hosting a security summit tonight. Meet me at the convention center at five thirty."

He closed his eyes and gripped his erection tighter. "Yeah."

"I will meet you beside the courtyard fountain."

"Yeah…"

He could hear Heero hesitate before hanging up. Duo let the phone go and fall to the floor. He felt dirty, disgusting and ashamed of himself but he just couldn't stop. He could imagine Heero's expression on the opposite side of the phone. He could see his intense, cold blue eyes and imagined his small, serious mouth pursing closed. He started thinking of the horrible things he would do to that mouth.

It didn't take long. He groaned through gritted teeth, bucked against the bed and then cursed himself to hell for being such a pathetic pervert.

Part Two

Duo watched as Trowa finished the last of his cheesecake. He was stuffed, and couldn't eat another bite. However, his tall companion was on his third dessert. He couldn't help but smile. Trowa was the only person who had ever out-eaten him. It wasn't too terribly surprising; the guy probably needed twenty thousand calories a day to keep up his body mass.

He sipped at a local beer. He leaned back into his seat and looked up at the cheerful puffy white clouds in the sky. It was nice to be able to turn your face up toward the sun and enjoy the view without seeing the opposite side of a colony staring back at you.

So far it had been a decent day. He had gone to see Une first thing in the morning and had signed his new contract. He was now the head of the Evidence and Acquisitions department. Basically they were shoving him into the basement to keep him out of the way. At first he had been annoyed, but after seeing his new work space he had immediately gone online and promptly ordered some cork boards and a decorative "I WANT TO BELIEVE" poster to put behind his desk.

He had decided that he would give it a chance. He didn't have anything else to do.

After getting his space established he had called Hilde. She was planning another visit next month. He was going to meet her in Germany for a music festival, and then they were going to see Howard for a spell. He also called Wufei and told him of his new position with the agency and when he had suggested giving Milo to an animal rescue to be re-homed the Chinese man had yelled at him and told him he already had a home: with him. He also e-mailed Esme and asked when she was off next so he could try to plan to visit the colony, get his car and move out of his old place around the same time she was available.

He had a huge list of things he had yet to do. He would need to find another apartment somewhere in Cinq, though that wasn't exactly a necessity. He could stay in the barracks for as long as he needed.

"So what are your plans for the rest of the day?" Trowa had asked conversationally. Duo took another long swig of his beer and shrugged a shoulder.

"I gotta get back to get changed into my uniform. I am gonna meet up with Heero at the security summit tonight," he replied. He saw Trowa nod before leaning over to sip from a particularly pink fruity cocktail. The Heavyarms pilot had a collection of three rainbow umbrellas spread out on the table in front of him.

"I wasn't going to ask, but since you brought him up…" Trowa was inspecting his face closely. "How are you taking the Princess Aurora plan?"

Duo scowled. "The what? Is that what they are calling it?" He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. That plot was just getting dumber and dumber by the minute. His hands had automatically retrieved his braid and his fingers were furiously worrying the tasseled end. "He told me he was going under, but … I may have went off on him."

Trowa nodded and had finished off his fourth cocktail. "That isn't surprising. It really is a bad plan."

"I'm glad I am not the only one who thinks so," Duo said quietly. He began bouncing his knee frantically under the table. He felt completely unsettled. Up until now he had managed to avoid dwelling on it, but now that he was going to be facing the issue head on in a few hours he was starting to feel edgy.

"It's an extreme plan, but I can see why they came up with it. Consider how we are all watched and scrutinized. The general public doesn't know about us, but if they did, we wouldn't be walking around free to do as we wish. People will always consider us a danger because of what we are capable of. The future may not have as many people like us who are willing to do anything it takes to stop the wicked from persevering. Someone like Heero would be invaluable in the future. He doesn't hesitate to carry out his mission and he always does what needs to be done."

Duo narrowed his eyes on his friend. His knee knocked the underside of the table. "Sounds like you are defending it," he growled. Trowa shook his head.

"No, not defending it. Like I said, I think it is a poor choice. Heero isn't an object. He is a human being. Preventer just considers him an asset, and I think Heero doesn't value his own life enough to say no to them. I don't defend his decision to do this, but I can definitely see the how he may have reasoned it out," Trowa said calmly, his one visible green eye locking with Duo's. "I know you are hurting because of this but consider how he must feel. How alone he is right now."

The thought made Duo uncomfortable. He wanted to be mad. He had felt horrible when Heero had told him about the plan, but he knew he mostly felt horrible for himself. He knew he was being selfish but he just couldn't help it. He gripped his knees with his hands under the table to try and still them and looked away from Trowa's sympathetic face.

"He doesn't have to be alone, though. He chooses this shit." Duo said blandly. He could see Trowa shaking his head again.

"You forget that Heero doesn't really have a choice. He doesn't know how to do anything else. His entire life has been dedicated to fighting for peace, for what he thinks is right. He thinks the end result of this proposal is right, so he is going to consent to any of the terms and conditions they throw at him." Duo watched as Trowa gathered his little umbrellas and put them into his jacket pocket. "I don't want to lecture you, though. I know you know Heero better than the rest of us."

Trowa had stood up from his chair and gave him a pleasant smile. "Thanks for lunch."

"What? Now wait a minute!"

Trowa chuckled and turned to leave. He gave Duo a small wave over his shoulder. "Consider it payment for my advice."

Duo fished his wallet out of his pocket and scowled down at the outrageously large bill on the table. "But you didn't give me any advice," he grumbled.


	29. Chapter 29

Part One

Duo tugged at his Preventer uniform jacket and adjusted his tie within his collar. He felt a few well-dressed dignitaries watching him as he padded into the summit. He had gotten there early and figured he would look around and see what it was all about. He had just stumbled into an enormous, richly decorated auditorium just as everyone was standing and applauding. He inched through the crowd and found a seat at the end of a middle row and quickly dropped himself into it just as the applause began to dissipate and everyone took their seats.

He looked up at the stage and saw a woman he didn't recognize at the podium. She was blond and blue eyed and looked completely out of place among the imposing men in suits seated in a row behind her. She leaned down to speak into the microphone hesitantly, clearly unaccustomed to speaking in front of such a large forum.

"Welcome and thank you for coming. My name is Sylvia Noventa…"

Duo straightened at the mention of her name. Why did that name sound so familiar?

He shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest and let his eyes wander the room. Various levels of government were being represented at this thing. He could see faces of every race, social ranking and color.

"-would like to introduce Vice Foreign Minister Darlian to now speak."

Duo looked back at the stage and saw Relena walking confidently out to the podium. She and Miss Noventa grasped hands with one another and exchanged a meaningful look before Relena turned to the podium and immediately began lecturing the Earth-Sphere about the meaningless of fighting and the importance of disarmament. Duo sighed and half-heartedly listened to her tirade. He let his eyes wander the room again.

 _If Relena is here, he can't be that far._ He scanned the crowds of people gathered in the corners of the room watching Relena present her ideas with bated breath. _Geez, if she ever wanted to start her own cult she would already have devotees._

Finally he spotted a familiar figure standing within a cased opening beside the stage. He was leaning against the wall with his shoulder and had his arms crossed tightly over his uniformed chest. Duo felt the residual guilt from his morning pleasure at the mere sound of that voice. He shook his head and quickly chastised himself for thinking about it. He could feel his face getting warmer. He loosened his tie some and cleared his throat. The woman seated next to him cast a curious glance in his direction.

Heero was watching Relena speak, and he appeared to be completely transfixed by her every word. To watch Heero be so entranced by someone else was uncomfortable for him to watch but Duo couldn't look away. Heero was one of the most stoic and unaffected people he had ever met, and to see him so fascinated by something was rare.

What was it about Relena? Duo had never been able to really figure that out. She was a strong woman, but the Earth-Sphere had plenty of those. She was rich, but he couldn't imagine Heero cared anything about that.

She had power and influence. Maybe Heero admired that about her, or maybe he feared it? Duo knew without a doubt Heero loved her idea of the future. They shared the same vision of a peaceful advancement of mankind, but didn't everyone?

Heero was watching Relena speak as if she were some angel in descent. It made him sad to know that the Japanese agent revered her but he couldn't entirely blame him. As much as he and Relena didn't agree or see eye to eye on things, Duo never wished her harm. She was good for the future, and good for society. He just didn't think she was good for his friend.

He watched as Heero shifted his weight and stood up straight to his full, rather short height, before scanning the room with his dark and pensive eyes. Duo looked back up at the stage. Relena had paused in her speech and was receiving a powerful wave of applause for something she had said. When Duo looked back down to the spot Heero had been he was gone.

The rest of the addresses to the crowd were bland and boring but Duo couldn't find a way to escape without seeming rude. He checked his phone for the time and saw he only had a couple of minutes before he was supposed to be outside to meet Heero. Finally the crowd was signaled to disband for smaller, more focused meetings in the adjoining rooms. Duo hopped to his feet and wove through the masses of people to get to the exit. He stumbled out into the courtyard and took a gulp of fresh, liberating air. It was still warm but the sun had begun its gradual descent towards the horizon. Its retreat forced the stretch of the shadows on the ground. Duo slid into one just as he saw Heero walking up the steps towards the large fountain in the center of the courtyard. He watched as the other agent took a place beside a fountain with woodland creatures frolicking and splashing in bowls of water. Heero appeared to be tense, which was unusual to see in his body language. He stood looking at the fountain for a long moment before turning his face up to watch the skyline of the city beyond.

Duo took a deep breath and tried to work up the nerve to walk over to him. He watched as Heero slid his hands into his pockets and seemed to relax at the sight of the sun dipping below the triangular rooftops. Finally he had built enough pressure in his legs to vault him forward. He strode as confidently as he could across the stone court towards the former Wing pilot.

"So, what is it you feel you gotta say to me in person, huh?" Duo said loudly as he got within earshot. Heero turned around slowly and eyed him with his usual flat, serious affect.

"I didn't think you would come," Heero replied. Duo stopped in front of him, shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well, I wasn't going to, but my curiosity got the best of me." Duo replied, feigning a grin. "So what do you wanna talk about?"

"I want to resolve whatever drama we have over Princess Aurora," Heero said plainly, getting right to the point in his usual way. Duo sighed and tightened his arms over his chest.

"What a dumb name for a program. You didn't come up with that did you?"

"No."

"Well, what about it? You are still going to do it, right?" Duo spat his words with disgust. Heero was staring at him. He didn't say anything. "Then what is there to talk about?"

"Relena and I broke up a few months ago, right after we had agreed to it." Heero began. "I wanted you to know that we broke up because we had a mutual agreement to live our own lives before we sacrifice to this endeavor."

Duo blinked and scowled. "What? So, you're saying what exactly? You took a break from each other to do what?" He felt annoyed. He was getting angry, but he could hear Trowa's voice in his head reminding him of just how alone Heero may be feeling. He tried to reign in his own emotions and put them aside to at least hear this idiot out.

Heero's gaze was unwavering. He pulled his hands out of his pockets and let them hang limply at his sides. "Are you really this stupid?"

Duo gawked and then scowled at him. "I'm not stupid, you're just being cryptic. What, you guys broke up so you could fuck me as much as you want? Is that it?"

Heero narrowed his eyes at him. "Is that all you think I want from you?" Duo saw a touch of frustration light up the Japanese agent's normally cold eyes.

Duo was taken aback. "Wait, what?"

Heero stepped closer to him and leaned into his face. Duo felt the urge to step back from his intrusion but the gravity from Heero's presence only held him steadfast on his feet. "How many times am I going to have to say this? I want to be with you."

Duo felt his breath catch in his throat. It was a little much to take in all at once. He thought they were going to argue about cryostasis and the dumb assignment involving Heero throwing his life away. He had been working out his arguments the entire walk to the summit. He hadn't expected it to take this kind of turn, especially after seeing Heero idol worship Relena in the auditorium.

"Wait… so you broke up with her to be with me?" Duo said weakly. "I thought you said she broke it off with you?"

Heero tilted his head in acknowledgement. "It was her suggestion. She kept saying she knew I was distracted by something, and she didn't want me to regret being with her in the future. She also wanted to have new experiences before we leave."

"So why didn't you just tell me?" Duo stammered. He was feeling frustrated with being in the dark about this for so long. "So you and Relena could talk about this, but you couldn't just call me up and tell me?"

"I tried to tell you, but there was never an appropriate time," Heero explained.

Duo frowned and shook his head. "So you were going to what? Do shit with me, and then be like 'well, yeah see ya later I am off to the future to save the world' and leave me here?"

Heero frowned. It became very apparent to Duo that he hadn't considered his feelings about it, and it pissed him off. "So what now? You still want me to be with you, but you're gonna go on ice in like nine months? And I am supposed to be okay with that?"

Heero finally broke his gaze off of him and looked back at the horizon, clearly befuddled.

"I'm not some fucking puppet. You can't just use me as you see fit and then throw me away. How fucking cruel you both are," Duo hissed. He could feel his tension beginning to rise but he couldn't do anything to stop it. He just wanted to punch him in the face. "You know how I fucking feel about you. I don't hide anything, but you've been keeping shit from me from the first moment we met. I'm tired. I'm tired of being the sidepiece, Heero. I don't want to do this anymore."

He wanted to scream at himself for those words. He didn't entirely mean them. He had been perfectly content with their arrangement, but having Heero so blatantly admit to using him was a slap to the face. He watched as Heero sat down on the benched edge of the fountain and seemed to be completely at odds with himself. He had run his hands through his hair and was staring down at his shoes. "You're right."

Duo was shocked. The whole situation had deteriorated and once again they were fighting. He wanted to curse him out and storm off to go kick something, but there was something so completely depressing about the Japanese agent sitting like that that it froze him to his spot. Heero rarely told Duo he was right about anything, and he certainly never seemed this lost in a conversation.

Trowa's obnoxiously sage and nagging voice was prodding him in the back. He forced a roll of his shoulders, sucked up his anger and pride and swallowed it to the bottom of his belly before dropping down to sit next to his friend with a frustrated sigh.

"Just… tell me something. One thing." Duo said with a frown. He saw Heero nod his head. "Is there any hope that you will change your mind? That this won't happen."

He heard Heero sigh.

"What if… what if I found another way? Would you stay here in this time and refuse stasis if I found an alternative?" Duo urged.

"Duo, I don't think-"

"Just answer my damn question, Heero." Duo interrupted, his own voice surprisingly forceful. "If I found another way, would you stay?"

"Of course."

"Okay then." Duo cracked his knuckles and forced a smile. "I guess I got my work cut out for me."

Heero was looking down at his hands. Duo reached out to shove his own hand within the other agent's cold palm and held it firmly. "So does this mean we're dating now?"

"If that is what you want," Heero said flatly. Duo felt his chest tighten. He looked up and saw a few passing people staring at them, but for the first time in his life he didn't care. He didn't care if anyone knew what he and Heero were doing.

"Awesome. Now take me to dinner, I'm starving."

/AN: I have noticed people are fretting about a possible canon FT ending, and I wanted to reassure with this chapter that there is still hope! Also, for the record, when I finally found translations for the new novels and read them a little part of me died. I may have cried a little into my tea… So. Yeah. Maybe that is a hint? Don't worry. I got this. Will post another chapter by tonight, so enjoy! /


	30. Chapter 30

Part One

Duo couldn't believe how happy he felt. It had been so long since he had felt this happy that the emotion seemed foreign and strange to him. It was almost too good to be true, and the lame party pooper in the back of his mind was nagging him to remember that this couldn't last forever, and that one day Heero would leave one way or another. That he didn't deserve anyone like this. That he didn't deserve to be normal.

"Eh, shut up the hell up…" Duo muttered to himself against the rim of his pint glass before downing the rest of his ale. He smacked his lips happily and slammed the glass down hard on the bar. "Another, Jeeves!"

"It's Jacobs," the friendly barkeep reminded him for the tenth time that night.

He nodded and smiled. "Oh yeah, sorry. Jacobs! Another, please!"

The elderly man smiled kindly and slid Duo's fifth foaming pint across the table to him. Duo sucked at the golden foam happily before looking over at Heero who was dutifully swigging at his second chocolate stout.

"Man, I missed this place," Duo said between gulps. "You still came here after I left?"

Heero shook his head that he hadn't and continued to chip away at his drink, his face relaxed and content. "No, it has been a while."

"I wanna bring Fei here," Duo said as he twisted his hips with the seat on the bar stool. "He would like it."

Heero smirked. "He would hate it."

"That, too." Duo replied before stealing a chip* from the plate in front of Heero. Opposite to them was a young couple sipping drinks and watching them curiosly from across the room. Duo waved. The woman smiled and waved back.

"Hey, you guys on a date?" Duo asked conversationally. Or rather, yelled conversationally. She nodded. He grinned from ear to ear. "Yeah? Me too! This is my first official date with this guy like, ever!" Duo was gushing so much they would need a mop and bucket to clean him off of the bar. The woman smiled and laughed. Duo laughed loudly and slapped Heero on the shoulder.

"Buy 'em a drink! Enjoy your night, yeah?" He said to them. Heero obediently nodded to the barkeep and had their drinks added to his tab before he took another long swig of his own beer. His dark blue eyes were studying Duo from over his glass. Duo had noticed and sloppily leaned over to lock eyes with him.

"What you lookin' at?"

"A drunk," Heero said firmly. Duo laughed.

"Yeah, I am…" he looked up and stared at the metal tiles on the ceiling and sighed contentedly. "You ready to go?"

Heero shrugged. "We can stay if you want to."

Duo shook his head and pushed his glass towards the barkeep. "Nah. I think it is time for a 'lil change of scenery."

Heero had finished his drink and paid the tab before requesting a ride on his phone. They both got up from the bar and went to stand outside and wait for it. A large gathering of locals was standing on a nearby corner smoking cigarettes. Duo bummed one off of a guy and took a long puff. Heero shot him a stern look but he shrugged him off.

"Listen, I don't wanna hear it. You gave me 'nuff stress this week, I deserve this one," he argued. Heero frowned but didn't say anything. Duo ashed his cigarette as their ride had arrived and then stumbled into the back seat.

"Do you want to go back to my place?" Heero asked quietly as Duo fumbled with his seat belt.

"I'm stayin' at Preventer," Duo slurred. He gave Heero a small smile and reached over to slap his thigh. "For old time's sake?"

He saw Heero's smile in the dark. "Sure."

Part Two: (Is it getting smutty in here, or is it just me?)

"Shit, wait. My jacket!"

Duo stumbled backward through his barrack room door. Heero had shoved him into the darkened room while stripping him and had left a short trail of jacket and shoes in the hallway. The Japanese agent had taken off his own jacket and tossed it on the floor. Duo tried to push past him to pick up his clothes but was stopped by Heero closing his door and locking it.

"Someone's gonna steal them," Duo whined as Heero pinned him against the door and started yanking off his tie.

"I'll buy you a new one," he said in a low voice before covering his mouth with a hard kiss. Duo groaned against Heero's lips and quickly forgot what he had been complaining about.

Duo was drunk, but he wasn't helpless. He groped around his partner's waist and pulled off his belt and yanked his uniform shirt off of his tightly muscled torso. He let his hands slide across the other pilot's abdomen and dip down into the hem of pants as Heero made quick work of undressing him.

"I'm gonna fuck the shit out of you," Duo slurred as he ran his fingernails across his partner's small, hard nipples. He heard Heero snort before he pressed his half-dressed body against Duo's naked frame. Duo could feel his rock hard arousal through the thin fabric of his slacks.

"You can try," Heero murmured into his ear. Duo grinned.

"Is that a challenge, Yuy?"

"Hn."

Duo involuntarily shivered as the Japanese pilot nuzzled his earlobe. He felt Heero's calloused fingers sliding up the sides of his hips before wrapping around to cup his ass and force him closer to grind their hips together. His hands were hot against his bare skin. Duo felt goosebumps erupting across his arms and legs as Heero's warm breath tickled his neck and activated every nerve in his body. He groaned, planted his palms firmly against Heero's chest and shoved him backwards.

The Japanese agent was caught off guard and went hurtling across the small room. He landed on his ass on the floor. Duo lunged at him and began trying to grapple with him. Heero started laughing louder than Duo had heard him laugh in a long time.** He had managed to roll Heero onto his face and had pinned his arms against the small of his back and was sitting with his full weight against his shoulder blades. The Japanese pilot's laughter was being muffled by the floor. To Duo's surprise he wasn't resisting.

"Now who's laughing," Duo taunted triumphantly as he straddled him. He held his wrists together with one hand and tugged his slacks down over his hips with the other. He managed to rip the other agent's pants off. He had just grabbed his ass roughly with his free hand when Heero jerked his fists up and broke free from Duo's hold and knocked him square in the crotch.

"FUCK!" Duo wailed before doubling over in pain and balling up into the fetal position. He looked up from the floor to see Heero getting up on his knees. The other pilot abruptly grabbed him by the hips and rolled him onto his back. He felt Heero's warm fingers try to pry his legs open. "No way, you motherfucker!"

Heero's hand snapped over Duo's mouth to silence him. "Shhh. You talk too much," he mumbled before forcinng his torso between Duo's knees. He dropped his face down to gently nuzzle Duo's thigh. "Let me make it up to you," he said softly against his puckered skin.

Duo moaned into Heero's palm and the erection the Japanese pilot had knocked out of his crotch returned in full force. He rocked his hips up from the floor and grabbed Heero's thick hair with his hands and rubbed himself against his cheek. Heero quickly obliged.

Duo closed his eyes. He felt his body involuntarily jump up from the floor as he entered the soft, wet Disneyland*** that was Heero Yuy's mouth. He felt Heero holding his hips down with one hand while the other one continued to press firmly against his mouth in attempt to mute his uncontrollable moaning.

Duo sucked in deep, tremulous breaths through his nose as the familiar electrifying pressure of his impending release began to gather in his limbs. He felt the Japanese man's fingers slide from his hips to his crotch. Everything began to melt into one intense, shocking sensation. Duo wasn't sure what Heero was doing down there but he didn't want him to stop.

No, wait. He did want him to stop. He began shaking his head frantically and tugged at his partner's hair hard. Heero lifted his face and looked up at him with wide eyes. He let his hand slide leisurely from Duo's mouth.

"… please…" Duo groaned and rocked his hips upwards suggestively. He could see Heero smirk before he wiped his mouth with his hand and began to creep up the length of Duo's body on his hands and knees. Duo hurriedly grabbed Heero's hips and helped him straddle him around the waist. He felt the tip of his own cock press firmly against the crease of his ass.

Duo looked up and grinned wickedly before roughly sheathing himself deep inside him. Heero groaned in pain and reflexively tried to take a swing at him but Duo managed to snatch his wrist and yank him forward. He kissed him roughly and forced his tongue into the other man's mouth. He felt Heero's body shuddering around him as he carefully retracted his cock from his body before rocking up into him again. Heero was twitching with every inch of penetration and Duo couldn't help but moan loudly at his tightness and the mixture of pain and pleasure on his face.

"Payback," Duo whispered against his partner's lips as he gradually slid into him again. Heero was quivering now, and Duo could feel his own erection throbbing for release. He began forcefully rocking into him. He knew he was hurting him but he hadn't asked him to stop. Heero doubled over as he was being roughly fucked and grabbed Duo's shoulders to steady himself. Duo gazed into his face and saw the rare half-lidded, helpless and completely submissive Heero that only made himself known in rare moments like these and instantly came.****

Part Three

"What do you mean you have to leave?" Duo looked up from tying his shoe. He saw Heero looking down at his cell phone. The Japanese agent was typing something on the screen before he looked up at him.

"I have work to do on the lunar surface," Heero explained flatly before pocketing his phone and putting on his uniform jacket.

"What?" Duo exclaimed, annoyed. He jumped up from his seat on the foot of his bed and grabbed his jacket (which luckily hadn't been stolen, but had been hung on his doorknob by a passerby^*) and jammed his arms through the sleeves. "Well, I'll come too."

"You can't. It is MSIU business, and you are banned from mobile suits."

Duo frowned and crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. "They said I couldn't pilot a suit, that doesn't mean I can't be around them."

Heero sighed and stepped toward the door. "Actually, it does mean you can't be around them. I'll be back in two days." He opened the door. Duo followed him. Before Heero stepped through the threshold he abruptly turned around to face him. Duo hadn't expected him to stop so suddenly and return. They bumped noses. Heero's lips curved into half a smile. He reached out to grab the front of Duo's jacket and held him in place as he kissed him.

"Behave yourself. It is just two days," Heero said softly before releasing him and retreating down the hallway. Duo watched him go with a scowl. How unfair was this? He finally had Heero all to himself and the guy runs off to go play pilot.

 _Must be how Relena used to feel,_ Duo mused with a smirk. He locked up his room and headed down the hall towards the main Preventer headquarters. He found the elevator and had hoped to see Heero in the lobby but he had already gone.

Duo tapped the down arrow and waited. He wasn't looking forward to going to work. Sure he had accepted the job, but it definitely wasn't what he wanted to do. Now that he knew Heero was going off to play with mobile suits he was feeling left out, and the idea of sitting down in the basement filing garbage into boxes wasn't very appealing.

An idea suddenly wormed its way into his mind. He technically didn't have to work today. He checked his phone. It was Friday. He could just take a three-day weekend. Nobody would notice him gone anyway, and if they did, he could just say he forgot to ask for the day off.

He grinned. The elevator door opened. He turned on his heel and broke into a jog, ran through the office entryway and out onto the street and hailed a cab to the spaceport.

* * *

* a French fry, for you Americans.  
** Heero laughs at the weirdest shit.  
*** The Happiest Place On Earth!  
**** Or cummed, if you want to be proper about it.  
^* Trowa.


	31. Chapter 31

/AN: selfishly I made the Lunar Base have full artificial gravity./

The first time Duo had been to the lunar base he had been tasked to destroy a mobile doll factory during Operation Meteor. It was the place where he had met Hilde for the first time. She had been an enemy then.

 _Funny how things worked out_ , Duo mused as he watched a fat man walk out onto the catwalk.

"I want all of the rear heat deflector panels moved into C-block by the end of your shift," the team supervisor bellowed. He was a short, round man in coveralls with a ruddy face and a single shock of blond hair right at the crown of his head. He addressed the hangar from a catwalk high and center to where the team was working to move enormous shipping crates that had been unloaded from the Preventer freight shuttle. "And make sure every ounce of that Gundanium is accounted for. I don't want that fucking Preventer kid to give me a hard time about it again. You lose the tiniest bit of that shit, I'll have your ass."

"Yeah."

"Yes bawse."

"Okay, sure."

"No problemo," Duo said with a smile. He pulled his black baseball cap low over his violet eyes and nodded. The cargo team consisted of over thirty men and women, and once the ship had docked and started to unload he had snuck into the open bay, yanked on a drab olive-colored coverall he found in a nearby locker and fell into line with the others.

He couldn't believe how easy it had been to stow away on the Preventer ship. After this was all over he was going to submit an anonymous report to headquarters about how it could be done. He knew he was good at stealth and breaking an entering, but their shuttle and freight commuter ship had been ridiculously easy to penetrate.

He knew he shouldn't be here. He had warred with himself the entire flight to the moon about whether it was worth breaking the rules and coming here. The fact that the entire trip up until now had been absolutely thrilling wasn't helping to make the case to go back. Finally he had decided he had nothing to lose. He didn't want to waste away this weekend in the basement. The fact that there was a Gundam somewhere in this facility was also too tempting. He had to see this thing.

The men and women began to disperse and get to work. Duo fell into step with a few of them and began to help strap up a giant shipping crate in preparation for a crane lift to move it off of a low, levitating palette. The team was moving some of the crates marked "GNDM-PRSW1" up to a loft area high above the main floor.

"Hey, kid! Go operate that winch. When I say so, tighten it until there is no slack, okay?" A tall, slender woman in a jumpsuit ordered him. Duo nodded and jogged over to the winch and did as instructed. He reached up to check and make sure his braid hadn't fallen out of his hat. So far so good. He had become an expert at coiling the long mass into hats, down the back of uniforms and through his sleeves to hide it.

His hair was always somehow getting in the way, and sometimes it made it hard to be less conspicuous, but he could never bring himself to cut it off. Sure, it made sneaking around hard sometimes but it was his burden to bear.

The team had strapped the crate and attached it to the crane. Duo held one of the straps firmly to steady the enormous box as it was being lifted from the ground. He took the moment to scan the hangar. There were a few secure doorways up on the topmost catwalk leading to God knows where. No one door seemed more secure than the other. Duo knew that if Preventer was making a Gundam it would be locked down and a challenge to get to.

He wondered who was directly involved in building the thing. Heero hadn't told him anything in detail, other than it would be completed in about nine months. Duo frowned at the thought. Then Heero and the Gundam would essentially be put into an icebox for use at a later date.

The reminder that he had limited time to figure out how to fix this hit him hard like a punch to the stomach. He had been so thrilled and distracted fucking around with Heero that he had somehow forgotten about it. He chewed his lip and pulled at the crate strap hard to keep it from swinging as the crane started to lift and swivel it up to the loft.

Life just wasn't fair. Everything Duo had ever cared about somehow always got taken away from him. He had never known his parents so he supposed he couldn't count them in this equation. He had lost Solo, his only childhood friend. The kid had been ripped away from him by the brutal sweep of plague that had ravaged the population of L2. Duo had been there to see him take his last breath, along with so many others. He had been present as a child to see many people die. He saw Father Maxwell brutally murdered right there in the church. He had held Sister Helen as she died from her injuries. Deathscythe had been forcefully taken from him by OZ and blown up on live TV. He could do nothing but helplessly watch it happen. He had reluctantly sent Deathscythe Hell to be incinerated by the sun. He had gotten it back for the battle with Mariemaia's soldiers during the Eve Wars, but in the end he had to live by example and destroy it again.

He frowned and released the slack on the strap as the crane lowered the crate onto the upper platform.

Maybe that was why it hurt so badly to lose Heero over the mission thing. Maybe that was why he felt so freaked out about the cryogenics thing. Now that he had Heero all to himself he was damned sure not going to lose him again.

 _If I can't find a way to fix this, I'll just have to kidnap the guy._

Duo tried to imagine how that would go down and smirked. It wouldn't be easy to get Heero tied up and thrown into the trunk of his car. He would have to tranq him or something. He began wondering how many elephant darts he would need to knock Heero Yuy out when a loud creaking noise began to fill the enormous open space. Duo looked up to see that the far wall behind the loft was shifting. An invisible seam in the center began to split open into two separate pocket doors. The creaking became a loud groan as the doors began opening wide.

 _So, that's where they're taking this Gundanium!_ Duo grinned and slid through the throng of workers and crates towards the catwalks.

He knew that Gundanium was a difficult thing to manufacture and the amount that would be required to make a single suit was significant. He had learned that fact when he first started training on Deathscythe. The start of the process for manufacture of the Gundams had been started before any of the pilots had even been born. The process by which the alloy was refined could only be accomplished in a zero-G environment.

Howard had once explained to him how the process worked. It was an advanced refining process that required extensive fusing and oxidizing techniques and exact magnetic conditions that only existed at the five lunar Lagrangian points. It wasn't even a true metal. It was a material fused in space by super heating metals and non-analyzed matter into plasma. The annealing process was accompanied by electromagnetic waves from the sun. It was this unique process that made Gundanium a superior material compared to anything manufactured on Earth.*

The fact that Preventer could even afford to make such a sizeable amount of Gundanium from scratch was a significant one. He knew that the organization had the backing of a lot of rich and valuable donors, but who would be willingly to pour so much money into development of a mobile suit when the entire point of Preventer was to stop such development from happening in the first place?** Duo knew there were plenty of suitable alloys that could be obtained much cheaper on Earth.

He couldn't help but frown as he climbed up a narrow staircase towards the upper loft level where the doors were opening. He tried to walk with as much confidence and purpose as he could, hoping nobody would notice him. So far it seemed to be working.

 _Don't make mobile dolls, they're evil! Don't let pilots have free will, that's evil! But anyway, we are over here building a fuck-all enormous Gundam made with crazy expensive Gundanium alloy. Don't mind us…_ Duo reflected bitterly. He didn't know if he would ever truly trust Preventer. But then again, he didn't trust any organization run by rich aristocracy. At the end of the day Preventer would be just as corrupt as OZ. It was only a matter of time. Money and power never worked out for the greater good in the end. Why should rich people give a shit about the poor and struggling? They never had to see them. They just shipped them off to the colonies like indentured servants to waste away out of the public eye while they sat around in their fancy offices on Earth sipping champagne and patting each other on the back for "facilitating the future of mankind."

He had finally made it to the top platform. Three crates had been loaded onto magnetic levitating palettes and were waiting to be pushed by forklift through the enormous open doors along the back wall. Duo walked casually across the floor with his head down.

"There are two more crates to load up, and then we will get back to work assembling the secondary stabilization gyros." Duo heard the team supervisor speaking just to his right. He glanced over from under the brim of his hat and saw the man holding out a tablet to a shorter figure in front of him. The figure had his back turned to him. Duo internally screamed and ducked his head and began walking quicker towards a gap between two of the crates.

 _Shit! Shit shit shit. Oh shit!_

He'd recognize that tight ass anywhere.

He hustled as fast as he could to the crates but then groaned when he heard the supervisor calling at him from over his shoulder.

"Hey, you! Get the serial numbers off of those two crates and bring them to me, will ya?" The round man yelled at him. Duo skidded to a stop and peeked over his shoulder. Heero was standing with is back still facing him looking down at something on the glowing screen in his hand and apparently hadn't noticed him. Duo cleared his throat and lowered his voice as best he could.

"Yes, boss." He said before ducking between the crates. He exhaled a shaken breath and frantically started searching for a way out. There was nowhere to go but straight into the large doors that had opened against the wall. He lowered his head, peered around the corner and then darted as fast as he could through them. He had originally planned on coming this way anyway, but now he had been noticed it would only be a matter of time before the supervisor noticed Duo hadn't come back with those numbers.

He hopped through the doors and saw beyond them was nothing more than a darkened hold with boxes and shipping crates stacked against the walls. On the rear wall was a single door with a bright blue-white LED light over the door. It had a keypad and a place to swipe a security card.

He heard voices coming up from behind him. He darted towards a pile of boxes and crouched down beside them as two figures, one short and fit and the other rotund and wobbly, approached the lit door.

Duo could see Heero's eyes scanning the room as he passed him. He held his breath and held himself as tightly against the stack of boxes as he could.

"That is strange, I coulda swore that kid went this way. Anyway, ya can't get good help these days. It isn't like the old days when you could find some true loyalists. There are just too many factions now. Too many people with too many opinions. Back then it was just Earth versus Colony, but now there are the Earth-Sphere people, the Colonists, the Purists, Total Pacifists, those wacky Neo Zeon*** kids… the list goes on." The supervisor was ranting as they stopped at the door. He saw Heero scan a card he had pulled from his Preventer jacket and barely made out his fingers brushing across the keys. There was a hiss and a click and the light over the door switched from blue to red before the door slid open. Heero and the man stepped through the doorway and vanished just beyond it. The door clunked to a close and the light above the door reverted back to blue.

Duo stared at it for a long moment, debating whether he should try to break in or not. He knew that he had been cutting it close already. He didn't want Heero to catch him. He didn't think his partner would get him in trouble, but he didn't want to start a war over this either.

 _But there is a Gundam. Just beyond that door is something new. Something amazing from the looks of all these supplies._ He grit his teeth hard and balled his hands into white-knuckled fists. He couldn't even imagine what this new Gundam would be like. The Taurus suits with the addition of Wing-One had been phenomenal. This could only be leaps and bounds better, especially with so many people working to develop just one suit. He just had to know. He had to see it. Something deep down inside him was egging him on and he couldn't help but give in to it.

He scanned the hold to make sure nobody was around before inching towards the door and keypad. He would need a security card to get in, and he had no idea what the code Heero has put into the keypad was.

He looked around the darkened hold and saw a small, rectangular vent near the ceiling.

 _Looks like I am gonna have to do this the old fashioned way,_ Duo thought with a grin. He wasted no time climbing up to the top of a stack of boxes. He pulled the grating off of the vent and slipped through the narrow opening with ease. He carefully replaced the grate before starting a slow shimmying crawl through the ventilation duct work in the direction of the secured area.

The vents were filthy. The Lunar Base and subsequent areas were tightly sealed against the harsh lunar surface and vacuum of space. Despite that fact moon dust still managed to gather inside, no doubt from people's suits and equipment being brought in over time. The fine grey film was incredibly clingy had an acrid smell similar to that of spent gunpowder^*. He bit his lip and held back a sneeze. He rubbed his nose with a grimy blackened hand and quietly cleared his throat before continuing his belly crawl through the maze of duct work towards what he hoped would be an easily accessed destination.

It was slow going. He had grown quite a bit since the last time he had done this. As a kid he had been nimble and lithe in frame and slipping through these small passages had been no problem. Now that he was older he was still small by average male standards. He knew his recent weight loss had given him a great advantage for his current situation, but his frame was still larger than it used to be and his arms and legs were more awkward.

By the time he had made it to the crossroads of the ducts he was panting. He stopped to catch his breath and rested his head against his now filthy arms. He could hear faint voices echoing in the distance. He shimmied to the left of the fork in the direction of the sound.

Finally he had made it to the vent where the voices had originated from. He slipped silently up to the grate and cautiously peered out to see what lie beyond it.

His eyes widened and he felt the breath smashed out of him at the sight of the torso and head of a Gundam that looked strikingly similar to Wing Zero. The shape of the torso was the same but rather than the bright blue, red and yellow color scheme Wing Zero had sported so long ago this suit had an almost opalescent pale blue and white chest. Its enormous shoulders included a triad of panels as opposed to the singular fixed pieces Wing Zero had. The head was nearly the same design. It was painted white with a large yellow crest on the front. An enormous green Search Eye^** was in the center of the chest just like Wing used to have. Large, angular half-painted white panels were lying on the ground behind it. They were shaped like feathers. Duo assumed that they would be added to the Wing Shield similar to what Wing Zero Custom used to have for atmospheric re-entry.

He heard the voices again. Directly below he could see Heero standing on a catwalk over the halfway-completed torso with the supervisor. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but he could hear his partner's smooth, calm voice droning on for a minute or two about something. Duo couldn't help but smile. Heero never said much, but if you got him talking about mobile suits he could go on forever.

He saw the supervisor finally nod and take the tablet from Heero before wandering off out of view. Heero was still standing on the catwalk looking down at the Gundam, which had been suspended from enormous cables attached to the ceiling. There were no legs or arms on the suit yet, which was typical. Duo knew that the torso and head components held the densest technologies: computer components, the operating systems, life support and the ultra-compact fusion reactor.

Duo sighed and watched as Heero turned to vanish in the direction the supervisor had gone. Once he thought the coast was clear he tried to push the grate off of the vent. Unfortunately it wouldn't budge. He cursed under his breath and tried again. It had been welded shut. He scowled. He didn't have any tools to cut it open.

 _Oh well, this is as far as I go. I better start heading back._ He gave the incomplete Gundam one last look before slipping backwards through the ducts the way he had come.

It took twice as long to go back as it had before. Moving backwards was awkward and there was nowhere wide enough for him to turn around. Finally he made it to the vent he had entered from. He slipped the grate off with care and poked his head out to see if anyone was around. Once he was convinced the coast was clear he dropped down out of the vent and landed on top of the stack of boxes below him. Just as he was fixing the grate back over the vent he heard a loud, familiar click.

He froze.

"Come down from there," he heard Heero's velvety voice command him coldly. "Show yourself."

Duo frowned and lifted his hands to the sides of his face to show that he was unarmed and carefully turned around to face the barrel of a gun pointed inches away from his face.

Duo looked past the barrel and locked eyes with the deep cobalt blue ones glaring menacingly at him.

"Um. Yo?" Duo said weakly. He saw Heero's eyes narrow more intensely.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Heero spat. Duo smiled and shrugged.

"I… missed you?"

Heero was scowling darkly at him. Duo didn't know what to say.

"Captain Yuy, is there something wrong?" Duo heard the voice of supervisor from beyond the large hold doors. It seemed he hadn't seen what was going on.

"Everything is fine. I will be down to sign off on your deliveries in a few minutes," Heero said flatly. Duo could hear the supervisor huff and saw the silhouette of the man vanish from the lit doorway.

Heero was still holding his handgun pointed directly at Duo's face. Duo stared down the barrel calmly. It wasn't the first time Heero had held him at gunpoint like this. When Duo had gotten the crap beaten out of him by OZ and had been thrown in their prison Heero had come to rescue him. He had held him at gunpoint just like this. Back then Duo had no way of knowing whether the Wing pilot would kill him or not. Now Duo was more confident that Heero wasn't going to just shoot him dead, but that didn't mean the guy was happy to see him. He certainly wasn't looking very happy at the moment.

"Come with me," Heero said icily as he gestured with his gun for Duo to go towards the locked chamber where the hidden Gundam was being held. Duo blinked but had no choice but to comply. He padded slowly toward the door. He saw Heero training the gun at his back as he did. The Japanese agent swiped his card and keyed in a code. The door hissed open as it had before. Heero poked him firmly in the center of his back with the gun to prod him through it. Once they had cleared the door and it thunked heavily closed behind them Duo felt the collar of his now utterly disgusting coveralls snatched from behind. He landed hard against the inside of the door and felt the barrel of Heero's gun jab him in the ribs to hold him there.

"Look, man. I didn't-" Duo's words were cut off by his partner's cool, hard lips roughly covering his own. Duo stared at Heero in shock for a moment before throwing his arms around the guy to crush his face into his own. Heero had forced his tongue into his mouth and had reached up with his free hand to yank off his baseball cap to free his hidden braid. The Japanese pilot wound the length of his hair around his hand and was holding it tightly within his fist.

Duo felt the barrel of the gun against his ribs abruptly pull away as the Japanese pilot holstered it before breaking their kiss. Duo could see the smudges of moon dust from his own face transferred now to the tip of Heero's nose and the corner of his serious mouth.

"You're completely insane," Heero said. Duo smiled.

* * *

* Source: "Gundam Technical Manual: Gundam Wing Book 1" (2002) by Shindosha Studio  
** Again, explain yourself Frozen Teardrop!  
*** Hail Zeon!  
^* According to Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan moon dust smelled and tasted like spent gunpowder. (2006)  
^** Wing's 'Search Eye' was a sensor that gathered secondary visual and radio wave data. Calculates position, movement and weak points of the opponent.


	32. Chapter 32

"The pilot even waved at me as I walked down the aerobridge!" Duo explained excitedly, his voice tinged with incredulousness. "I mean, nobody even asked me for clearance."

Heero was listening to him explain how he had ended up on the Lunar Base in silence. His arms were folded tightly over his chest and his expression was contemplative and stoic.

"I mean isn't there supposed to be protocol for that kind of thing?" Duo asked. He had propped himself up to sit on the top railing of the catwalk directly above the incomplete Gundam mobile suit. Heero was leaning on the rail opposite of him in silence. "Why the hell was it that easy? I dunno man; I don't trust Preventer with their security either. I shouldn't have been able to get this far so easily. I was impressed that the vent grating in this room was welded, but it was still easy enough to see through. I got into the vent with no trouble at all. I didn't even have my sneak kit with me."

Heero had tilted his head in acknowledgement. Duo saw him cast his gaze down to the new Gundam mobile suit resting on the hammock of cables just below them with an unreadable expression.

"You're worried that someone is going to get their hands on this thing, aren't you? Why did you come here, anyway? It isn't like you couldn't just clear all of your signatures digitally from Cinq." Duo straightened his Preventer jacket with his dusty hands. He had managed to shed the stolen grimy olive coveralls but he hadn't had a chance to clean up from his exploration of the ventilation system. His eyes were feeling irritated from the acrid moon dust. He rubbed at them with the backs of his hands before noisily clearing his throat.*

"Security is definitely a concern. I suppose it was a good thing you broke the rules. This time." Heero replied quietly before looking up at him. "You really should stop making a habit out of this kind of insubordination."

Duo sucked his teeth and rolled his eyes. "Way to give a compliment and then take it away, Heero."

"Doesn't the future of your career concern you?" Heero had dropped his arms to his sides. Duo studied his face. The Japanese agent still had the smudges of grime on his nose and corner of his mouth that had transferred from their kiss only an hour before. He shrugged casually and shook his head.

"Life's too short. Especially when we're living on borrowed time…" He replied, echoing the sentiment of a particularly erudite circus clown he knew. "Unlike you, I don't believe Preventer to be the end-all solution to all the world's problems."

Heero's back straightened at the accusation. "I have never said that."

"Sure, not said, but you consented to have them stuff you into an arctic sleeping bag for God knows how long. Can't say that you don't have a hell of a lot of faith in them and then not trust them to fuck that one up." Duo couldn't help but let his bitterness flow. The whole thing still left a nasty taste in his mouth. He had already had a problem with Preventer but now that he had come back into the program he was seeing more and more red flags. From the outside looking in there was something off about the whole thing. "They can't keep me out of this hangar, how the hell can you trust them to keep you safe in a test tube for a hundred years?"

Duo could see the corners of Heero's mouth twitch down into a frown. He didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. Duo knew what Trowa had said about Heero was right. The former Wing pilot only knew how to fight, and his current mission was to fight for peace. Whatever the cost. Relena was endorsing Preventer. He believed in Relena. He would believe in Preventer's wack-a-doodle proposal for them both to be frozen and sent into the future. Even if it was against all logic. Even if it wasn't reasonable.

Duo was used to playing second fiddle to the Princess of Peace, but now that he had been given the opportunity to have an uninterrupted emotional connection with Heero he was beginning to feel frustrated and unhappy with that reality. He was going to have him for only nine months. Relena was going to have him for eternity.

Duo still had no idea what he was going to do about it.

Heero was looking uncomfortable. Duo decided to change the subject. He looked down at the halfway constructed Gundam and smiled. "So what are you calling it?"

"Preventer has code named it Snow White," Heero replied quickly. Duo blinked and raised an eyebrow.

"Preventer got to name the Gundam, too? Jesus." He couldn't help but scowl. "What would YOU name it if you had a choice?"

"Proto Wing Zero," Heero replied without a moment's hesitation. Duo couldn't help but grin widely. He knew his partner had already formulated an answer to that question. "It has ZERO system. It would be only natural," the Japanese agent added.

Duo nodded. "So this thing has that same ZERO interface as your old suit, too?"

Heero sighed. "Yes."

Duo carefully pushed himself off of the railing and turned around to lean over it as far as he could and look down at the white and blue suit beneath them. Its paint was practically glowing in the dim light of the hangar. He was still stricken by how similar this new suit's design was to Heero's former Wing Gundam.

"The thing looks a lot Wing. Doesn't Preventer have any original ideas?" Duo mumbled. Heero had stepped up to the railing beside him and had tilted his head down to stare at the suit. Duo glanced up at him. He appeared to be lost in thought.

"That's because it is the same suit," Heero explained. Duo blinked and gawked up at him.

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Preventer acquired all of the spare parts and equipment from Wing Gundam that had been hidden on L1 before Operation Meteor. It is a hybrid of old and new Gundam technology and parts." Heero was grasping the railing tightly with his hands. Duo sighed and cast his gaze back down at the suit. Now that he knew it was a hybrid that fact seemed completely obvious.

"So what parts are from your old suit?" Duo asked quietly.

"Various. The Search Eye on the chest is original, as is the cockpit. The face is the same, but the helm around it is upgraded. Hands and feet are the same." Heero reported. Duo shook his head.

"Damn, J had a lot of spare stuff." Duo replied, shocked. He couldn't believe that Heero had known about the existence of these spare parts and not done something about it before. They had all vowed to destroy their Gundams after the Eve Wars. Heero had been the first to do Wing Zero.

"There were originally two Wing Gundams. One for each of us." Heero said quietly before pushing off of the railing and walking towards the stairs at the end of the catwalk.

"Eh? Two? Wait a minute!" Duo shoved back from the rail and ran after him. "What are you talking about."

 _Two Wing Gundams? Then there had to have been another pilot, right?_

As far as Duo knew all of the Lagrange colonies only had only one pilot each, but it made sense to have a backup. He began to wonder whether Professor G, the man who was responsible for the design and manufacture of his own Deathscythe Gundam, had a backup pilot as well.

Duo had always considered the circumstances by which he had met Professor G and become Deathscythe's pilot a bit odd. He had managed to practically stumble into the situation. He knew that his experience had been different from Heero's. The former Wing pilot seemed as if his whole life, his very existence, was centered around being a Gundam pilot. Duo had always considered that one of the more intriguing things about his partner. Sure, his own childhood had been pretty shitty, but Duo just couldn't imagine Heero as a child at all.

They had reached the hangar floor. Heero had stopped at the bottom step but Duo had been so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed. He had run smack into the back of him. Heero stumbled forward but caught himself. Duo hadn't been so lucky. He had attempted to catch his balance but couldn't seem to stay upright. He landed flat on his face and groaned loudly into the floor.

His faceplant had been accompanied by a loud, echoing cackle from nearby. Duo pushed himself up to his feet as fast as he could just in time to see a hunched figure waddling toward him from a doorway just beyond the Gundam Snow White.

"Well, what a nice surprise. I wasn't expecting you to bring me some company," a froggy voice said with excitement. Duo felt his jaw drop.

"W… wait a minute! You're supposed to be dead!" Duo exclaimed as the immutable Dr. J approached them. The old man looked exactly the same as Duo remembered him to be the last time he had seen him. Duo had saved Dr. J with the other scientists from White Fang and had brought them to Howard and Professor G's battleship Peacemillion. The scientists had been presumed dead after the ship had exploded while they had successfully reignited its engines in attempt to keep a large portion of the fallen battleship Libra from landing on the Earth.

"Well, what a way to greet your elders. This is the company you keep now, huh Heero?" The old man's clawed hand had lifted to gesture at Duo with a few wide pinches. Heero had stepped beside Duo and was standing relaxed with his hands in his jacket pockets.

"He's my boyfriend," Heero replied in his matter-of-fact way. Duo coughed.

"Oh?" The old man leaned forward on his cane. Duo could see his robotic lensed eyes swivel as he focused on him. Dr. J looked him over from top to bottom before regarding Heero with a smirk. "I guess he's cute enough."

"Ohhhhkaaaayyyy this is getting fucking weird," Duo said loudly. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Calm down, kid. Isn't it obvious? I'm here building a Gundam." The old man waved his clawed hand up at Snow White. He was smiling proudly through his long mustache. "You didn't think Preventer could manage this kind of construction on their own, did you?"

The crazy old coot had a point. "Wait a second, so you're in on this too. First Howard, now you. Who the hell else is involved in this?" Duo shot Heero an accusatory glance but his partner was too busy eyeing the mobile suit to notice.

"Oh, the usual suspects here and there," Dr. J croaked mysteriously with a face splitting smile.

"Wait a minute. So you're telling me all you scientists made it out of there alive?" Duo couldn't believe it. Didn't anyone stay dead anymore? The old man cackled again and then turned his back to them to begin hopping his way towards a command module hardwired to the bottom of the suit.

"Yes, well, we all have our part to play in these things. Heero, are you ready for the Wing-One download?"

"Yes," Heero had strode up beside the old man and was looking down at something on the module screen. Duo just stood back, gaping at them.

"Wait a minute. WAIT. Listen, someone's gotta explain this shit to me. I am tired of being left in the dark." Duo protested as he approached the two from behind. He threw up his grimy hands in frustration. "Will someone explain to me what is going on?"

Dr. J had looked up from the module. His lenses were rotating again. "What are you confused about?" The old man looked up at Heero. "You didn't tell him the plan?"

"Not yet. He wasn't even supposed to be here."

"Wait a minute. What plan? Someone talk to me, damn it!" Duo yelled, his voice echoing from the rafters. He stomped over and grabbed Heero's shoulder roughly and tried to yank him around to face him. "What plan? What is he talking about?"

Heero turned around slowly. Duo could hear Dr. J snort under his breath as he pounded at the keys on the screen with his intact hand. The action was strangely similar to what Heero often did when he was either annoyed or amused.

"I wasn't going to tell you about this, because I wasn't sure that it was going to work. Or if Preventer will even approve of it." Heero gestured to the module with a hand. "Jay wants to upload my personality and abilities into the ZERO interface through Wing-One. He has bound both systems together. The idea is to make a model A.I. that would operate as I would during battle but that can be loosely connected and controlled by a secondary pilot. This isn't necessarily going to work, so don't get your hopes-"

Duo couldn't help himself. Before Heero could finish his statement he grappled him into a tight hug. He could hear Dr. J chuckling beside the module. He didn't know what to say, he had just found himself overwhelmed by the idea that there was a chance that Heero had found a way out of Princess Aurora. He was also stunned that the other agent had even tried to find an alternative.

 _This means he doesn't want to go_ , Duo finally realized. He could feel Heero's hands on his shoulder blades. They pressed into his back for a moment before sliding free of him. The Japanese agent had pushed him away at arm's length and was giving him a stern look.

"It might not even work," Heero said firmly. "We just wanted to try it."

"Yeah. I understand. What can I do to help?" Duo asked eagerly.

"Just stay out of the way," Heero replied before turning back to assist Dr. J. Duo frowned and took a deep breath before looking around Snow White's hangar. He spotted a cabless truck with a mounted scissor lift parked nearby. He walked over to it and flopped down into the driver's seat and watched as the two exchanged quiet words and tapped on monitors.

 _So Heero is gonna try to get it out of it. Why doesn't he just simply refuse?_ The thought had nagged him from the moment he had found out about it. What would his partner have to lose from just saying he didn't want to? Trowa had mentioned that Heero didn't have much self worth. Duo wasn't sure about that. The guy was pompous as hell about his piloting abilities. Someone that confident and capable couldn't possibly think he wasn't worthwhile, could he?

He knew that the real answer had something to do with Relena. Heero would do anything for her, even if it meant throwing his life away. However, now Duo was seeing a different side of the picture. Heero may not have the same blind devotion to the cause that Duo had originally assumed. At least he was willing to save a little part of himself instead of willingly becoming Preventer's sacrificial lamb.

He watched as Heero abruptly broke away from Dr. J and began climbing up the skeleton of catwalks to the chest of Snow White. He reached out and manually activated the cockpit to hiss open and climbed in.

Duo watched with curiosity as Dr. J began manipulating the module on the ground. The cockpit door slid closed with Heero inside. Suddenly the suit's eyes and the enormous Search Eye erupted into a viridescent glow. Duo could hear the gradual crescendo of all the systems within the torso activating.

After ten minutes or so the doctor broke away from his work and hobbled over to him. The old man leaned against the fender of the truck and stared up at the now pulsating mobile suit with a sigh.

"I have developed many mobile suits in my lifetime," he said in a sentimental voice. "But I can safely say that this suit will be the culmination of all of my life's work."

Duo nodded. This thing wasn't even complete but he was entirely impressed. "Too bad they're gonna just shove it into a freezer once you're done with it."

"Yeah, true. But I am still happy to have made it." The old man reached up to scratch his goatee with his claw. "You know, I was wondering what had changed his mind."

"Eh?"

"He had seemed pretty set on that Aurora thing until just recently. Came barging in here demanding to know his options. Now that I know about you, it all kind of makes sense now." The old man dropped his claw to his side and turned to look at him. "You must be pretty special."

Duo felt his face growing hot. He laughed and rubbed the back of his head and smirked. "Yeah, well I think he is just wanting to stick around to best me. He knows I am a better pilot than he is, and he wants to make sure he doesn't leave me here to have all the fun."

"Maybe…" Dr. J turned to look back up at the mobile suit again. He was quiet for a long time before he spoke, this time his voice sounded small and distant. "That kid was only a little boy when we got him. Never seen anything like him before. At the time the Alliance had become more brutal than we thought was possible." J held up his claw again and waved it in the air. "Took my arm with a bombing on L1. My good friend Heero Yuy was our purveyor of peace. He was the one we all hoped would lead our world into a better future. They had him killed. This kid here had no name, just Beta. We used to call him Beta…"

Duo stared at Dr. J wide-eyed but couldn't bring himself to interrupt the old man's reverie. He waited silently for him to speak again.

"He was the best of all of us. He had a humanity that was genetic. No matter how much the trainers tried to beat it out of him, it just couldn't be done. That is why I picked him, because I had hoped that he would make the right choices. That he would use that heart to do the right thing. He was sent to the planet instead. He was the right choice. I told him as he left that he was our greatest hope, and gave him my old friend Heero Yuy's name as he left. I wanted him to live up to that name." Dr. J's voice tapered off. Duo was frozen in place just staring at him. He was afraid to move or even breathe, lest the old man would stop confiding in him.

"He's a good kid. I'm glad he has friends. He needs more people to love him. He wasn't always this way. We made him the way he is. Deep under that angry face is a kid who loves unconditionally. A kid who doesn't want to kill. A kid who never got a chance to enjoy life. I had hoped after everything was done with Wing Zero that he would be able to retire, but he chose to join this place…" Dr. J's eyes scanned the room. "And now they want to keep him here as a backup plan."

Duo frowned. _Dr. J is on my side. Finally someone who makes some fucking sense._

"Why can't he just tell them no?" Duo asked softly. Dr. J looked up at him from the fender and shook his head.

"He thinks he is the key to lasting peace. He's right. He is. There's nobody else like him. Not anymore…"

"So, there was another pilot?" Duo had been chomping on the bit, waiting to ask that question. He watched as Dr. J nodded his head sadly.

"Yes. Alpha. His clone."**

The room. Was it spinning? Duo grabbed the steering wheel of the truck and braced himself.

"What? Clone? Heero has a fucking clone?"

"Had. Had one, yes. We tried replicating him but it just didn't work. It wasn't the same."

Duo couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had known that Heero's past had been a confusing clusterfuck of crazy but this was getting insane. "What happened to his… um… clone?"

Dr. J didn't reply. Duo wanted to ask again but the man appeared to be getting tired. He was hunching his back more than he had before and his face was getting flushed.

"How long is he gonna be in there?" Duo asked. The old man shrugged his shoulders.

"An hour? A few hours? Whenever it is done. I suggest you take a nap or something. I know I am…"

Duo watched as Dr. J began shuffling away towards the room he had come out of before. Duo wondered if he was living here during the construction process. He assumed so. He looked around the empty hangar. There was nobody else around. Didn't they have a team to work on this thing? Why wasn't anyone here today?

He supposed it was because what Dr. J and Heero were doing was a new and perhaps secretive thing. Maybe they didn't want anyone knowing what they were up to. Duo wondered about what Heero had proposed. They were going to try to put his mind into ZERO and make it an A.I.? Heero had mentioned that Preventer may not approve of it. Duo could see that, they absolutely hated the idea of mobile dolls and essentially that was what Heero and Dr. J were doing here. What had he meant about Wing-One being attached to it? Did that mean that someone could interact with Heero's ZERO A.I. and influence or override it? Duo hoped that maybe that little addition would entice Preventer to let Heero off the hook.

He leaned his head against the top of the truck's steering wheel and crossed his arms over his chest. This whole thing was just too confusing, and he still didn't know what to think. Dr. J's cryptic words about Heero's past were playing over and over again in his mind. He had a clone. Someone had tried to make Heero again. Was it because of the way Heero's brain worked? Relena had shown him those PET scans and called Heero a Newtype, but Heero had denied that he was one. So if he wasn't a Newtype what the hell was he?

Clearly his mind could handle all of the crazy stimulation and data flow that ZERO forced into the pilot. Duo also recalled how easily Heero had adapted to Wing-One and had overridden his own emotions and thoughts with his own. That was why Preventer wanted Heero. It wasn't because he was a good pilot, it was because his mind could handle all of the advanced technology that was out there. Whatever happened to his clone? Why didn't Dr. J want to talk about it?

Duo's head was beginning to pound. He tried to push out all of the unanswered questions from his thoughts and focus on one thing to give his poor confused brain a break. Time to do something that always worked to distract his mind.

"Our galaxy itself contains a hundred billion stars;

It's a hundred thousand light-years side to side;

It bulges in the middle sixteen thousand light years thick,

But out by us it's just three thousand light years wide.

We're thirty thousand light-years from Galactic Central Point,

We go 'round every two hundred million years;

And our galaxy itself is one of millions of billions

In this amazing … and expanding … universe."***

He muttered before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Footies:

*1972 - Apollo Astronaut Harrison Schmitt complained of having "lunar dust hay fever" while encountering lunar dust within the Challenger Lunar Module.

**Frozen Teardrop novels reveal that Heero was born to Odin Lowe and was actually his biological son. By the time the scientists got him his DNA was used to create another pilot. A clone for "spare parts". Heero and his clone - who went by Alpha even though he wasn't the original - competed to see who would make it to Operation Meteor and Heero won because of his innate abilities and humanity.

*** "The Galaxy Song" - Monty Python

* * *

/AN: Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions. I have a pretty tight outline of how things are going to go on this bad boy, and trust me that everything will come full circle. It may not seem like it right now, but this is from Duo's POV and he is supposed to be confused and out of the loop for a lot of it. :) I do enjoy suggestions, it is always fun to Pow Wow.

I also intend on rewriting this after completion to fix any grammatical and consistency errors, so if things get a little confusing or blatantly need revision feel free to poke me in the eye and tell me. I'm happy to be sharing this idea with everyone and have given myself a challenge of posting every 1-2 days until it is done. My goal is to have the plot completely laid out and explained by the end of this month (January) for Anime Los Angeles here in SoCal so that the ideas can be up for discussion at the Gundam meet up.

I am a big fan of canon for this series. I hope I am not dismaying anyone with references to Frozen Teardrop. I'm not a particularly HUGE fan of that addition to the series but I really enjoy keeping things as accurate as possible for my headcanon. This fic was inspired by my own need to loosely rewrite some of the events. As much as I dislike what the creator has done with FT, I do enjoy a lot of the new MS aspects and the battles in the novels (of what I have been able to find translations for). If you haven't, google some of the new artwork. It is gorgeous. Now if only they stopped making everyone a watered down crap clones of the original characters...

The end of this fic will have a "Author's Cut" chapter that will fully explain all of the references to Gundam, Gundam Wing, GW: FROZEN TEARDROP and additional publications.

Additionally: I love Dr. J. He is one of my favorite characters./


	33. Chapter 33

Duo was awakened by his own forehead slipping away from the steering wheel. He had fallen asleep face down against the wheel. After a while his weight had shifted and he had lost his balance. He reflexively flailed his arms as he felt the startling sensation of free fall but managed to catch himself before he tumbled out of the cabless truck's driver seat.

"Man… how long have I been out?" He muttered under his breath as he searched the quiet hangar for any sign of time passed. He had gotten used to the angles and shadows on the Earth's surface revealing an estimate. He had only been in Cinq for a short time but he had already adjusted to the patterns of the sun. Being in a stagnant timeless space environment again was going to take some getting used to. He sat up and stretched his arms over his head. The muscles on his shoulders strained as he extended them.

He looked up at Gundam Snow White. It was still suspended from the cables overhead but the bright green glow of energy coursing through its external lighting and sensors were nowhere to be seen. It was hanging cold and dead from its bindings. Duo squinted up at it and noticed the cockpit was open but from his vantage he couldn't see into its dark interior.

He slid off of the truck's seat and looked around the hangar. There was nobody around and the door that Dr. J had vanished through was closed. He found himself staring up at the cockpit of the mobile suit again.

 _Well, it couldn't hurt for me to just have a little look inside_ , he thought with a devious smirk as he began to pad quietly towards the frame of catwalks alongside the suit's torso. He slipped up the steps silently and approached the cockpit with caution. As he closed in he could see the familiar interior of what had once been Wing's cockpit. Duo had only seen the inside a few times, and had sat in that pilot's seat only once when he was forced to test ZERO system. Unlike Deathscythe's standard style cockpit with enormous flat panel monitors flanking the pilot on all sides Wing's old cockpit was customized to make the pilot aware of everything around him without relying on monitors alone. Much like the Wing-One system, which had been inspired by ZERO, it could show the pilot everything happening around him through a pilot-MS bonding interface. It was dark inside the cockpit but he could still see the large translucent sphere that served as the heart of the ZERO system located at the front end. As he inched closer he saw two legs splayed apart just below the sphere.

Duo blinked and peered up into the open hatch to see Heero resting against the pilot seat with his eyes closed. His arms were hanging limply at his sides. His head was covered with a halo of wires and probes and was hanging tilted to the left. His normally hard expression was completely relaxed. He was clearly asleep. Duo detected the faint rise and fall of his chest beneath his uniform jacket.

Duo didn't get any closer. He couldn't seem to bring himself to disturb him.

The revelations from Dr. J had given Duo a new impression of his old friend. He had always suspected that the guy had experienced a rough childhood, but to be one of two tools used blatantly as weapons was utterly disturbing. Duo had seen plenty of death as a kid and he had chosen to fight against it the best way he knew how. It seemed that Heero had been groomed to fight from the very start.

Dr. J had said Heero didn't want to kill and resisted the programmed heartlessness as a kid. Duo could recall Heero's panicked thoughts while they were bonded in Wing-One vividly. He hadn't wanted to kill anymore. Luckily in their recent mobile suit battle they had been limited to fighting against mobile dolls. As far as Duo could tell everything Heero had been interacting with was either A.I. or inanimate. They had destroyed the shuttle that was controlling the suits, but there was no evidence that the shuttle had been manned.

He frowned. The last time he could remember Heero having to kill someone was when they had been on that crappy mission that had split them up. Duo had shot the suspect against orders, but Heero had shot the accomplice who was right behind him between the eyes. Heero had done it to protect him. The Japanese agent's actions that night had already left an impression on him, but now that he knew Heero was reluctant to take anymore lives it held new meaning. He had broken his own personal tenet to protect him.

 _So why would Preventer want to freeze a guy who doesn't want to kill? They wanna keep him on ice until they need him to fight for them again. That is what they're doing, right? But he doesn't wanna kill anymore. So …_ he looked up from the cockpit to the eerie face of the Gundam. _If they could just take his mind and put it in this thing, he wouldn't have to._

Duo felt confident that this plan would work. It was logical, but he knew that Preventer was run by people who liked to stroke their own egos and jack off on the rule books. Duo had lived his whole life following rules. He had broken the laws of the L2 colony more times than he could count. He had submitted himself to the rules of the Catholic church and orphanage. He had been restricted at the beginning of Operation Meteor by mysterious messages through his COM dictating his every move. It wasn't until he met up with Heero and the missions stopped streaming in that he felt truly free from rules. Joining Preventer had put a stop to that. Being autonomous was a hard habit to break and Duo wasn't sure he could ever get the hang of being told what to do again.

He let his gaze drop back to study the sleeping figure in the cockpit.

 _Sleeping Beauty here loves living by the rules,_ he thought with a sigh. Despite the fact they had made up over that crappy Preventer mission they hadn't ever discussed it. Duo still felt like Heero should have backed him up, instead of pointing out he broke the rules and not defending his actions and letting him quit over it. He was just looking for a simple "thanks for saving my life" kind of thing but he knew he would never get that from the former Wing pilot. It just wasn't how he operated.

 _Well, maybe…_ Duo crossed his arms over his chest and took a deep breath. The toe of his boot began to tap against the metal grating of the catwalk. _He has been thanking me for stuff lately. Maybe he is starting to realize what a jackass he is…_

"Could you stop being so noisy? I was trying to sleep."

Duo froze and looked down to see Heero peering up at him from the cockpit. The Japanese agent had begun carefully removing the ZERO probes from his forehead.

"So you done?" Duo asked as he watched his partner stand up within the cockpit and pull himself out onto the catwalk.

"For now. We will have to test the A.I. tomorrow and have someone pair with it. If it works, we can present the data to Preventer next week." Heero was walking across the catwalk towards the stairs. Duo fell into step behind him.

"How are you going to test it? It doesn't have any arms and legs." Duo asked as they began their descent to the hangar floor.

"Jay has made a simulator similar to the one we trained on for Wing-One except this will have the human pilot pair and bond with ZERO. Or rather… my mind in ZERO."

This was getting really confusing. Duo sighed and watched as Heero approached the module at the base of the Gundam. He was tapping a few keys. The module glowed and numbers began streaming quickly across the display.

"So, let me get this straight. You put your abilities and memories into that thing?" Duo asked hesitantly.

"Yes."

"And then what… tomorrow you're going to test yourself by connecting through Wing-One to the computer version of you?"

"I'm not going to bond with it. You are."

Duo felt that suggestion slam into him like a bat to the head. "W-what? Wait a minute, I'm not connecting to that thing!" He jabbed a finger up at the deadened face of the Gundam and shook his head. "No way. I can't handle ZERO, Heero. I tried that and it didn't end well. I went fucking insane. No way. NO."

Heero didn't look up from his work on the module. "You can handle it. I know you can."

Duo was speechless for a long moment. He felt words tumbling into his mouth but he couldn't form his lips around them to spit them out. "N… no way. I'm not like you! I can't have computers digging around in my brain like that, it will kill me!" He was getting anxious. Heero still wasn't acknowledging his protests and it was starting to piss him off. "Get someone else. Or you do it."

"It wouldn't be much of a test to have me bond with myself," Heero explained. "You are here without reason. I am giving you a purpose. When we return to Preventer I will tell them you were commissioned for this project by me. There is no danger of you hijacking this suit. You will technically only be interacting with the systems anyway. I will take full responsibility."

Duo was feeling the raw, unadulterated panic he had felt when ZERO had first raped his brain. He balled his fists tightly and felt his heart beating a mile a minute against his rib cage. "I … I can't do it, Heero!"

Finally Heero looked up at him through his shaggy brown hair. Duo could see his dark blue eyes narrowed at him through his messy fringe. "I thought you said you were a better pilot than I was." His tone was even and challenging.

"I am better than you! I don't need a fucking operating system sticking its dick in my mind to be better!" Duo was feeling exasperated. Heero straightened his posture and began walking towards him with a surprisingly cold expression on his face. It had caught Duo off guard. He began to backpedal a few feet but was tense and ready to fight back if he had to.

"Do you know why you lost control in ZERO?" Heero's voice was flat. It was putting Duo on edge. He continued to back away from the Japanese agent.

"Because I'm not a fucking robot like you are," Duo hissed. Heero didn't appear to be affected by the insult. He continued his disturbingly slow advance upon him. Duo finally stopped retreating and planted his feet firmly against the floor. He tried to stand to his tallest height, which was perfectly even with Heero's. He stood fast as the former Wing pilot stopped in front of him. They were now toe to toe.

"Because your mind is too complex for it."

"Eh?"

"I saw the data from the test OZ did with you. The results weren't the same as when Quatre lost control. Quatre had become overwhelmed by the system because he couldn't decide on any of the myriad paths ZERO was showing him. It caused him to break down and deteriorate into a warped madness. Your data…" Heero had reached out to grab Duo's braid from where it had been draped over his shoulder. Despite his menacing advance the gesture was gentle. He let his fingers glide down the length of the coil as he spoke. "Showed that your mind was moving too fast for it. That when it presented you with the information you were analyzing all of the predictions and taking them all in, memorizing them. Instead of being overwhelmed, your mind was absorbing it. That was what made ZERO fail you. It began to show warped images to you, not because you couldn't handle its truths, but because it couldn't figure out what choice you were inclined to make. It began to try to predict you as the pilot, rather than form predictions of the battle scenario around you."

Duo stared at him. _So… I didn't fail ZERO?_

The idea had always bugged him. Wufei had a similar program in his Nataku Gundam and he excelled under its influence. Heero and Miliardo performed amazing things with ZERO. At the end of Operation Meteor Quatre had managed to master the system and make tactical decisions for them as a team with it. The fact that he was the only one to ever encounter it and not be able to handle it had always bugged him.

"Okay, so maybe I broke the thing with my superbrain… but that means we just aren't compatible." Duo reasoned. "I haven't changed. It is still ZERO system, right? If I work with it again the same thing is gonna happen, regardless of whose fault it was the first time."

Heero was holding the end of his braid in with his fingertips but his eyes never left his face.

"When I paired with you the first time I realized that you needed music to focus. I don't think you realize what your mind is capable of."

Duo blinked and stared at him with now very wide violet eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"You remember everything you hear." Heero said slowly. Duo shook his head.

"No I don't. I mean… I don't think I do…" He reached up to rub the back of his neck reflexively. Heero was still holding his hair, staring at him.

"If you hear a song, you only need to hear it once to know the words. You know more digits in Pi than anyone else I know. You can recite other people's statements you've heard on the news. You used to come and tell me entire news segments that you heard on TV. I know they were word for word. I checked."

Duo swallowed hard and let his hand drop back to his side. He felt strange, as if he was just now privy to a secret that had been kept from him his whole life. He didn't know this one thing about himself. How could he have not noticed this? He supposed that the fact he had never compared his memory to anything or anyone else before played a role. He had just assumed everyone else remembered the same things he did.

"Things people say bother you because you can't let them go. They get locked into your mind." Heero explained. "You talk too much, but that is because you are trying to find your own thoughts inside your head, which is taking in everything around you. When you speak out loud you can hear your own thoughts, rather than have to single them out internally. Your mind is complex, but if we play music while you bond with ZERO I am confident you will be able to focus and shut down some of those streams of information so the suit can feed data to you properly."

Duo felt Heero tug gently on the end of his braid. Finally his cold mask cracked at the corner of of his mouth to produce a half smile. "Trust me." Heero murmured. "You said you would do anything to help find an alternative. I need you to do this for me."

 _Damn him…_ Duo sighed, tossed his hands up and shrugged his shoulders. "Fine-fine. I'll do it. But don't say I didn't warn ya."

The Japanese agent released his braid. He had reached up to grab his chin and urged Duo's lips against his own to exchange a small kiss. "Good. Now go take a shower, you're disgusting."

"Fuck off!"


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Duo was feeling anxious about the upcoming test with Zero. He was so wound up he could barely eat, which had evidently caught Heero's attention.

"You need to eat more calories than that," the Japanese agent said from behind his laptop. He had been working diligently on something all through lunch and hadn't eaten himself, but had insisted that Duo try to. The acid in Duo's stomach sloshed around in protest. He groaned and picked at the greasy pizza in front of him. He had managed half a slice, but the smell of the leftovers were now making him nauseous.

"I can't man…" he forced himself to take a sip of water. He just wanted to gag. "I'm gonna puke."

Heero looked up from whatever he had been engrossed with and was studying him closely. "If you're sick we will postpone the test until next week."

"No! No, it isn't that. No need to move it." Duo steeled himself against his anxiety and forced a big smile. "Just not feeling too confident, ya know?"

"You need to eat. You aren't getting enough nutrition. You've lost too much weight and you will also need dense caloric intake for your brain to function against the Wing-One system." Heero was lecturing him. Duo stared down at his pizza and scowled.

"Starving kids in China, right?" He muttered before dutifully forcing the rest of the pizza into his mouth. He would normally be all about greasy gut-sticking food but today just wasn't the day. He chased it all down with the remainder of this water and swallowed hard. "Okay, now what?"

Heero was typing. He didn't look up. "Dr. J suggested that we prime you before you bond with the system." Heero reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of wireless earbuds. He set them on the table in front of Duo.

"Prime?" Duo obediently picked up the earbuds, turned them over in his palm once and then inserted them into his ears. Heero nodded from across the table.

"We can't talk about the details here." Heero gestured to the public cantina they were sitting in. It was located just outside of the Preventer sector of the Lunar Base. "But basically calm your brain down. Studies suggest that songs between 70 and 120 beats per minute are optimal for the brain to focus."**

"So what, you want me to relax or something?"

"Yes, and memorize them. That way you can use them again to help you focus during the test." Heero wasn't willing to divulge any more details. Duo smirked and leaned his elbows on the table. He rested his chin on the top of his interlocked fingers.

"So did you go through my music and find some stuff?" Duo asked casually. His partner shook his head.

"No, I researched songs with the appropriate bpm but that also have steady melodies and that avoid any sharp discord. Your music is too chaotic and the beats were too fast." Heero was clicking around on the laptop.

"Wait, so you … you made me a mixtape?" Duo's face erupted into an amused and delighted smile. "Damn, Heero. Doing this boyfriend thing right!" He couldn't help but tease him. Heero was glaring at him from across the table before responding by drowning Duo's ears with the tinny sound of a pair of electric guitars strumming out an airy tune at 72 bpm. A pleasant male voice began singing along with it:

 _I used to like to walk the straight and narrow line_

 _I used to think that everything was fine_

 _Sometimes I'd like to sit and gaze for days through sleepless dreams_

 _All alone and trapped in time_

 _All alone and trapped in time_

 _I wonder what tomorrow has in mind for me_

 _Or am I even in it's mind at all_

 _Perhaps I'll get a chance to look ahead and see_

 _Soon as I find myself a crystal ball_

 _Soon as I find myself a crystal ball.*_

Duo stared at Heero, who was watching him intently from across the table.

The song was heavy, and slow and incredibly sad. It wove itself into his thoughts and began making him wonder if Heero had chosen this song for its meaning or purely based on the rate of beats per minute. It was making his chest ache. He couldn't help but feel like it was a subliminal plea for help from his friend.

 _Crystal ball? Does he mean ZERO?_ Duo could see the ZERO system in the cockpit in his mind's eye. He imagined Heero with his hands on either side of the sphere, holding it and staring down into its glowing face seeking the answers for this situation they were in.

Duo knew he was letting his mind get carried away. He closed his eyes to block Heero out of his thoughts. He tried to focus on the sound of the instruments behind the man's voice. It was beautiful. The song ended and another with a similar pacing took its place. He began memorizing every detail of each track from the hitching breaths of the vocalists to the subtle variations of drums throbbing through the harmonies.

Duo could hear the music rolling through his brain the whole walk back to the Preventer sector and hangar.*** He tried to focus solely on the new songs and tried not think about anything else.

Part One

"So, are you ready?" Dr. J was grinning at him from the catwalk beside the cockpit. Duo looked up at him with a shrug and gripped the black Wing-One immersion helmet tightly between his black gloved hands. He could feel the familiar pulsating energy coming from the back of his suit. It was holding him tightly against the pilot seat. Dr. Jay had replaced the old five-point harness seat from Wing's old cockpit and had installed the new Wing-One upgraded model that Duo had used before in the Taurus suit. Gundam Snow White was humming all around him in frequencies both old and new. The high-pitched and faint whirring of the fusion reactor sounded from just behind him and was accompanied by a low, bass-like grumble he had never experienced in a suit before. It reminded him of how his Mustang would idle at a traffic light.

"I guess it's now or never," Duo replied. He looked down at the helmet and closed his eyes for a second. He sucked in a deep breath and let his determination solidify. Despite this he was still afraid. He wasn't afraid of ZERO hurting him. He wasn't even afraid of the risk that the system could possibly send him into hysterics again. He was afraid of the outcome of the test. He was worried that it wouldn't work, and that it would be a failure and Preventer wouldn't accept the result. He was worried Heero would be-

 _Trapped in time_ , he recalled the lyric from the song Heero had primed him with. The song had initially saddened him but now a fire had been lit in the spot in his chest where the pain from the song had once been. He wasn't going to let this thing get the best of him. He wasn't going to let Heero down.

Dr. J had waddled off down the catwalk and Heero had materialized from behind him. He stepped closer to the cockpit and was looking in at him with an unreadable expression.

 _I wonder if he's worried that I can't do this,_ Duo considered. This time he would be bonded to Heero's memories and skills VIA ZERO through Wing-One rather than his actual partner. He had no idea what to expect.

"You just need to put the Wing-One helmet on, and I will activate ZERO for you," Heero explained with his usual flat affect. Duo frowned. He was definitely in "mission mode". He could tell by his tone and posture he was going to be strictly business from here on out.

"Gotcha," Duo replied as brightly as he could. He saw Heero nod his head before turning to stride away from the cockpit and towards the steps leading to the hangar floor. Duo sucked in one last breath through his nose, held it and shoved the helmet over his head.

Darkness and silence. He exhaled. He was left with nothing but his thoughts and the faint replay of the image of Heero's ass walking across the catwalk away from him.

 _Man, when this is all over, he is gonna owe me big time. When I get outta here…_ He couldn't help but start thinking of all of the horrible and satisfying things he was going to force the former Wing pilot to do to pay him back. _Maybe I'll have him suck me off right here in the cockp-_

 **Pilot Duo Maxwell, verified.** Wing-One's familiar smooth female voice derailed his train of thought.

The screen in front of him burst to life and temporarily blinded him with a flash of bright, stinging white light.

"Duo… " He could hear Heero's voice. It sounded muffled and distant. "Keep the smut to a minimum, will you? Preventer will be seeing this data…"

Duo blinked as he realized the voice was coming from a speaker in the Gundam's cockpit. He laughed. He had forgotten that all of his thoughts in Wing-One could be observed in simulation mode. Heero had explained that to him when they were training for bonding in the Taurus suits. The simulation Wing-One system had an observation mode where an instructor or trainer could sit at the console and watch as a third party. Apparently Heero was watching him now, and could hear his thoughts. He grinned from within the helmet.

"Shit, my bad. Still gonna need my reparations though."

The bright light began to fade away to reveal a simulated space environment. There was an asteroid field in the distance and a blue dwarf sun illuminating Duo's vision. His ears activated with "The Sound of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkle. Now that Heero had started the music ZERO would soon activate. Duo stared at the image of the blue dwarf glimmering at the corner of the display. He began tapping his fingers against the thrust controls as the pellucid notes of an acoustic guitar and the low, harmonized voices of the two male vocalists began to fill his mind. He had only heard this song in the cantina once, but he already knew every word and sway of tempo by heart.

 _Hello darkness, my old friend,_

 _I've come to talk with you again,_

 _Because a vision softly creeping,_

 _Left its seeds while I was sleeping,_

 _And the vision that was planted in my brain_

 _Still remains_

 _Within the sound of silence_

 **Wing-One pilot calibration complete. Activating Gundam Snow White ZERO AURORA.**

The field of space that was being displayed through the Wing-One immersion shifted and began to glow with a dazzling golden light. Duo squinted against the light and heard the familiar whining flare of ZERO system beginning to scan and assess all of the simulated surroundings. He winced as it started trying to probe him. It felt like a phantom finger had tried to poke the front of his brain through his skull. He reflexively grit his teeth and tried to steady himself against its assault.

 **Attempting Pilot - ZERO AURORA bond,** Wing one stated.

Duo felt his mind beginning to rush in multiple directions. What if this doesn't work? What if it makes me crazy? What if I let Heero down? What if this kills me? What if I can't do this?

 _In restless dreams I walked alone_

 _Narrow streets of cobblestone,_

 _'Neath the halo of a street lamp,_

 _I turned my collar to the cold and damp_

 _When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light_

 _That split the night_

 _And touched the sound of silence_

He forced himself to think about what he wanted. Isn't that was ZERO^* did? It tried to realize what the pilot desired and produced every possible outcome and result to facilitate that desire.

 _What do I want?_

 _I want this to work. I want to be the best pilot. I want to ace this mission._

He could feel the pressure against his skull decreasing incrementally. He began to relax as it did. _Am I paired now?_

 **Pairing complete. Pilot and ZERO have paired. Beginning AURORA bond.**

Duo felt the familiar pull of Wing-One as it forced the collected data of Heero's mind towards him. He felt a strange presence was watching him. It felt like that creepy feeling people got when they were in a room full of dolls. It was like having a hundred sets of dead eyes on you, and then seeing one of the dolls turn its head.

He felt his skin crawl. Suddenly a thought formed in his mind, but it wasn't his own.

" _ **Duo Maxwell, pilot 02. Acknowledge."**_

Duo felt his breath catch in his throat. It sounded remarkably like Heero, except with even less inflection. Duo didn't think that was even possible.

 _Pilot 02, acknowledging. Are you Aurora?_

" _ **Affirmative."**_

 _What is your callsign?_

" _ **Aurora."**_

 _Yeah, okay. Even robot Heero isn't very creative._ Duo could hear the music in the background changing to "Imagine" by John Lennon. He let the song wash over him. He started to feel peculiar. He had stopped tapping his fingers to the beat and felt as if he were now hovering over his own body. He began to feel strangely detached, as if something were tugging him by his consciousness out of his skin. He felt very light, despite the fact that the Wing-One had been crushing him into the pilot seat only moments before.

His vision was abruptly flooded by data outlining their mission. They were to follow the designated path through the asteroid field and destroy an enemy cruiser and any mobile suits that blocked their path.

 _Easy enough,_ Duo thought as he reached out blindly for the controls in the main cockpit and began guiding the simulation Snow White Gundam towards the target coordinates.

The presence of Heero's ZERO A.I. was all around him. He felt little pinpricks of energy tingling and lifting the fine hairs on his arms, legs and the back of his neck. He felt he was blindfolded in a chair with someone seated just in front of him, staring at him. However, unlike the real Heero, there was no emotion shared between them. He couldn't feel his partner's trademark calm. There were no wandering considerations or thoughts.

Duo frowned. _Hey, Aurora. Who is Relena Peacecraft?_

He sat back and waited for some sort of emotional response. At the name "Peacecraft" he knew the real Heero would have had a flurry of emotions. Respect, love, confusion, anxiety. Something. There was nothing but a cold, brassy emptiness hanging in the corners of Duo's thoughts.

" _ **Relena Peacecraft is the last surviving female heir to the Cinq Kingdom.**_ "

 _Huh, okay. Then who am I?_

" _ **Duo Maxwell, former pilot of MS Gundam Deathscythe."**_

Duo sighed. _Oh well, guess you are just a robot. I was hoping you'd say something more amusing._ He could see on their map that the cruiser was only just beyond a cluster of asteroids ahead.

 _Hey, Aurora. You like me, right? Are we friends?_

" _ **Duo Maxwell is my first friend. My only friend."**_

Duo couldn't help but laugh. _That's right buddy. I'll always be here for ya. C'mon let's go fuck up that cruiser._

" _ **Affirmative."**_

* * *

* "Crystal Ball" by Styx (1976) - Progressive Hard Rock: 72 bpm

** Actually 60 BPM is considered optimal for focus and brain function, but the pickings were slim in that department.

*** "Imagine" by John Lennon: 76 bpm, "Live and Let Die" by Guns N' Roses: 78 bpm, "The Sound of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkle: 108 bpm, "Creep" by Radiohead: 92 bpm

^* ZERO stands for "Zoning and Emotional Range Omitted" system.

* * *

/AN: I am glad to be feeding those obsessions! Sorry for the wait on this chapter, the technical ones tend to slow my momentum some. Somehow this ended up more like a songfic than I am comfortable with. Oops./


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

Duo looked up at the rafters and stretched his stiff arms over his head. He could feel all of the muscles in his abdomen and thighs twitching and quivering involuntarily. The connection with Wing-One and the ZERO AURORA A.I. had been intense. Massive amounts of energy had been forced through his body to facilitate the bonding with the A.I. through ZERO. As a result his body had become over stimulated and full of static electricity.

He saw someone approaching from the corner of his eye. Heero had stepped up to the cockpit. He seemed more relaxed and less uptight than he did before. Now that their task was over he was getting back to his usual, borderline amiable self.

"What's wrong?" The Japanese agent asked with a frown. Duo tried to still his shaking legs in vain.

"I can't stop twitching. Shit… it feels like I just did five hundred leg presses." He tried to hold his legs down with his hands and groaned. "What the fuck?"

"Take off your gloves." Heero said firmly. Duo blinked up at him.

"Why? You trying to get a good 'ol Handy J before the old man comes back?" Duo grinned from ear to ear, causing his partner to roll his eyes in response. He slid both of his gloves off and tossed them into his lap and made a couple of lewd gestures in the air for good measure in attempt to get a rise out of Heero.

It wasn't working. Heero had reached across the cockpit and grabbed the arm nearest to him by the elbow and pulled him closer. Duo smiled, thinking maybe Heero was going to kiss him, but then felt his hand forced against an exposed metal panel beside his seat. He heard a sharp crack, followed by an intense and biting shock against the palm of his hand.

"OHFUCKSHITFUCK!" Duo hollered as he yanked his arm away from Heero. "What the hell!?"

"You needed to ground yourself. Sometimes the energy ZERO uses to connect with you gets caught in the synapse between your motor neurons and muscle fibers. I used to have to ground myself after every battle." Heero explained with a small smirk. Duo scowled up at him.

"You enjoy seeing me in pain, don't you?" He grumbled as he rubbed his still tingling palm against his knee. He saw the former Wing pilot shrug a shoulder.

"Sometimes," Heero said casually. Duo blinked and looked up at him with a devious grin. He was going to log that little tidbit into his brain for later.

He attempted to push himself up to a stand but immediately fell back into his seat. His legs were filled with an uncomfortable and heavy sensation as if they were asleep. He couldn't bear any weight against them. He groaned with annoyance and tried again.

"Jesus, how can you stand to use this system? I can't feel my feet." He grappled the thrust controls and tried to pull himself up again but failed miserably. He could hear Heero snort before he saw him dip down into the cockpit to grab him by the arm with both hands.

"You get used to it," he said quietly as he hauled Duo up from the seat and dragged him unceremoniously out of the cockpit before dumping him onto the catwalk.

Duo landed hard on his knees and braced himself up with his hands. He looked down through the honeycomb of the catwalk at the hangar floor far below. He could see Dr. J mulling about beside the hardwired console below them. He grabbed the lower rung of the railing and pulled. He tried to force his unresponsive leg to slide underneath his torso to bear weight on it, but it was no use. Nothing was working. He grunted with frustration and was about to army crawl when Heero stepped closer and began to attempt to pick him up.

His partner had wrapped his arm around his shoulders and was working on scooping up his knees when Duo reached out to grab his face roughly with both hands. He pulled him down to kiss him. He could feel Heero tense his arms, clearly startled.

Catching the other agent off guard had become one of his unofficial hobbies. Heero didn't pull away so Duo made sure to give him a few licks and nips against his lower lip before retreating slowly with a smile.

"I'm not your fucking damsel in distress," Duo said with a grin. "So don't pick me up like one."

Heero smiled. "Alright." He proceeded to lift him a few inches off of the catwalk before intentionally dropping him. Duo landed hard on his ass. He tossed his head back with a laugh, as Heero stood over him with a playful glimmer in his normally indifferent eyes. This was the Heero Duo loved. It was sad that not too many people got to witness it.

"Okay you two! Stop horsing around and come down here. This data is phenomenal!" Dr. J yelled up at them from the floor below.

"Here, lemme get on your back." Duo instructed from the ground. Heero sighed and stepped in front of him to kneel with his back facing him. Duo wrapped his arms around Heero's neck. He could feel the other agent hook his arms around his numb knees before vaulting them both up from the floor. Heero walked easily across the catwalk to the stairs. Duo took this opportunity to bury his face in his partner's hair. He breathed deeply and let himself get drunk off of his Heero's tangy, intoxicating scent.

It felt nice to finally be free to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. It felt like back when they were kids and had just met on the planet for the first time. He felt normal. He could finally joke around with Heero without an impending mission or complicated war looming over them. He didn't have to worry about crossing the line anymore, or pushing Heero's boundaries when it concerned Relena. He still didn't really understand what was going on between them, but he had decided to be selfish for once and not give a shit. Heero was his and right now he didn't have to share him with anyone. Not Relena, not the mission, not the Earth-Sphere and hopefully soon not Preventer. He wrapped his arms tighter around Heero's neck and rested his chin on his shoulder as they slowly descended the steps.

"Young man, you exceeded my expectations." Dr. J said as they approached. Heero carefully dropped Duo to sit on a nearby crate before joining the old man at the console he was working on. Duo nodded and smiled brightly.

"Yeah, well I am the best." He said as he flashed them a pair of finger guns.

"You're very talented. I am surprised that you weren't G's first choice considering what your brain is capable of. Very odd, indeed." Dr. J was rambling as he poked and prodded at the screen in front of him. Duo saw Heero look up from the display to stare at Dr. J before shifting his gaze to him.

Duo gawked. "What do you mean I wasn't his first choice?" This was news to him. He watched as the old man looked up at him in surprise before reaching up with his claw to scratch at his goatee.

"Hm, interesting. I thought you knew."

"Heh? Knew what?" Duo was becoming annoyed. "Why would you say that I wasn't his first choice? What? Was there someone else that was supposed to pilot Deathscythe instead of me?" Duo had unzipped the top of his flight suit from the neck to the center of his chest. He was feeling suddenly very hot and could feel the skin on his face and neck flushing.

"Yes. Originally there was another pilot, an older youth who had been trained on Deathscythe for Operation Meteor. Something happened to him, I can't remember now. Got killed in a training accident I think. Anyway, they had your file and so they arranged for you to come and now you are here. Marvelous story, isn't it?" The old man smiled widely, chuckled and returned to his work. Duo felt his mind beginning to grapple desperately for answers but found none. Heero was still watching him from the opposite side of the console.

"Wait a sec. What file?" Duo asked, his own voice sounding meeker than he had originally intended.

"Your medical file, of course. That brain of yours was the reason they were tracking you in the first place. Only superior minds can be trusted with mobile suits. That was my idea." The old man was rambling without looking up, evidently engrossed with his task. "You got sick or something? I really can't remember, but once you had a brain scan the hospital reported it to us. All colony hospitals were required to tell us whenever patients with increased activity like that were found. Most of the time we didn't do anything about it, but with you I think Professor G had you monitored and vetted for some time before deciding to make you the backup."

"So… you're tellin' me I wasn't Deathscythe's original pilot? And what are you talking about? Brain activity? I was never in the hospital… " Suddenly Duo's memory was jolted with the realization that had in fact been hospitalized. When he was very little during the plagues of L2. The same illness that had killed his best friend Solo had stricken him as well. The police had found him with the other homeless kids and had shipped them all off to the colony hospital. He hadn't been there long. He had barely made it through the fever before they had put him into a machine. He hadn't known what it was at the time, but now he could distinctly remember men in lab coats talking to a man in a dark suit and tie who seemed very out of place in that infirmary. He had always assumed the guy was a stiff from the colony's Child Protective Services.

All of these new details began to ache his brain. He reached up with both hands to palm his eyes and try to rub the confusion from them. "You're saying the government was watching me?" he mumbled through his wrists before dropping his hands into his lap.

"Well, just us colony folk. Otherwise they wouldn't have been able to find you if they needed you. As it turned out you ended up breaking into G's ship anyway. They had lost track of you at the spaceport, but then you magically appeared right there in open space with them. G talked about it all the time. Said you got through all of his security like it was nothing. Anyway, it must have been fate. How long did you train with him? Three years*, right? Three years isn't a long time to train for a pilot, especially one with a complicated mobile suit like Gundam Deathscythe. However, you have such an amazing ability to respond and adapt because of that mind of yours. That was why you were chosen as backup. You didn't think you had just walked into that program as a stowaway and were given that chance out of nowhere, did you?" Dr. J finally looked up from his work and swiveled his robotic eyes at him. "Don't be so glum about it. You are here now, and clearly an amazing pilot. Calm down. Now look here, this response time for the …"

The old man had directed his stream of conversation at Heero, who was still watching Duo with a hint of concern. Finally the Japanese agent turned his face down to regard whatever it was that Dr. J was showing him. Duo closed his eyes and tried to block out the crazy doctor's froggy voice.

 _I wasn't the original pilot? Why should I care? I still ended up with Deathscythe anyway._ He wasn't sure why it was bugging him so much. He couldn't help but feel like the whole situation had been deceitful. Why wouldn't they just tell him about the former pilot? Now that Duo really thought about it three years of training on a scheme that was formed before he had even been born really didn't add up. Why hadn't he thought of this before?

What kind of Big Brother crap were Dr. J and the other scientists involved in? They had been watching him since he was … he quickly counted out the years on his fingers. He had been almost seven years old when the plague hit. He had only been out of the hospital for a handful of months before Father Maxwell had taken him in at the Maxwell Church.

It bothered him that his fate had not been of his own choosing. It was bugging him that he was being watched without consent. It was also nagging the shit out of him that he was different from everyone else. He recalled Relena seated across the table and pushing Heero's PET scan in front of him. She had called Heero a Newtype. Heero had denied it. Dr. J said that all of the Gundam pilots had advanced brain activity.

"Are we Newtypes?" Duo blurted loudly, interrupting Heero and Dr. J's exchange. Heero looked up first, but Duo couldn't read his expression. Dr.J finally started laughing. His laughter only fanned Duo's embers of irritation.

"Oh hohohoho! Newtype**? That's just an old superstition!" Dr. J had grabbed his stomach and was doubled over laughing at him. "W… what do you think you have psychic powers? Can you _feel the heart of outer space***_? BAHAHAAHAA!"

Duo's hands balled into tight fists. "This shit isn't funny. You guys monitored me my whole life for a reason. Why? Because I can remember some stuff? You said we were all advanced in some way. What would you call it then? Relena and the doctors on Earth seem to think it is Newtype. Relena told me Heero is a fucking Newtype. So what does that make me?" Duo was seething now. If his legs hadn't been useless sacks of goo he would have stormed off to go punch something.

Dr. J's laughter was finally beginning to wind down. He coughed and sputtered before straightening his posture. "You know… I remember the first time I heard about Newtypes.^* Someone at a bar told me they met one. Said the lady could move things with her mind, and read your thoughts. Everyone laughed at him and called him a liar. I don't know what a Newtype is supposed to be. You two are clearly advanced. The Sandrock Pilot and Heavyarms pilot are too. I don't know much about that boy from L5, all of his information had been lost when his colony perished. All I know is you're special, and you've been chosen. If you want to call yourself a 'Newtype' to make sense of it all then go right ahead." Duo watched as the aged scientist smiled warmly at him before turning to grab Heero by his shoulder. "Go help your friend lie down. He's had a rough day. We can go over these details later."

"Boyfriend." Heero corrected the doctor mildly before coming over to shoulder Duo's arm and help him to his feet. Duo could feel some sensation in his legs now, but they were useless from muscle exhaustion. He stumbled along as Heero dragged him towards a small side room. The room was narrow with only two utilitarian cots flanking either side. Duo fell to a sit heavily on one and watched as Heero sat across from him on the other.

The close proximity of a place to crash began to influence his eyelids. They were becoming increasingly difficult to keep up. He flopped down onto his side and curled his legs close to his body and hugged his knees. He hadn't felt this worn out in a long time.

"I'm going to go help him write up a report. We will leave first thing tomorrow for Cinq," Heero said in a plainly. Duo struggled to watch him but finally conceded defeat by his eyelids and let them close.

"Go...tcha… see you on the other side," he mumbled. The last thing he could remember was Heero's rough fingers caressing his cheek before he took a nosedive into the realm of R.E.M.

* * *

Footies:

*Duo first encountered Professor G, the man responsible for the development and building of L2's Deathscythe Gundam, in After Colony 192. He would have been only twelve years old. Operation Meteor didn't begin until A.C. 195, when he was fifteen.- Source: "Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Episode Zero" by Katsuyuki Sumisawa.

** Zeon Zum Deikon, politician and philosopher from the Principality of Zeon, had a philosophy that became widely accepted in the Universal Century timeline: "mankind was destined to leave the Earth for space, where they would evolve into a new stage of evolution, called the _Newtype_." - Source: Mobile Suit Gundam (1979)

*** Quatre actually did "feel the heart of outer space" in an episode 10 of the series. He also appears to read Heero's thoughts in episode 26. NEWTYPE? Absolutely.

^* Dr. J is like that grandpa that will tell you stories until he passed out asleep in his lounge chair.


	36. Chapter 36

Part One

"So with this new system there will be no need for you to go into cryostasis?" Relena asked as she thumbed through the massive proposal in front of her. Duo glanced at Heero, who was seated next to him at the cafe table. The other agent was sipping a cup of coffee and watching her with a surprisingly relaxed expression.

When Heero had told Duo they were meeting Relena for lunch when they had first arrived in Cinq he had expected the entire exchange to be chaotic and tense, but so far it had been completely the opposite.

"Yes. All of my skills and decision factors have been installed in the system. We performed a pilot bond test with it and it worked seamlessly." Heero finally said. Relena was still perusing the information with interest.

"I really like this proposal," she said lightly before looking up at them. "But what about the Disarmament Clause of Earth-Sphere of AC 197? Won't it conflict with the agreement that no entity shall possess or develop Mobile Doll Technology?"

Heero nodded his head. "That is the only thing that is in conflict with this proposal. That is why I wanted to talk to you."

"You're suggesting I go before the Earth-Sphere Unified Nations and have them rewrite that law?" Relena frowned for a moment before closing the file carefully with her slender fingers. Duo could tell she was conflicted. Her normally confident gaze was wavering.

"I know that is a lot to ask." Heero replied.

There was silence at the table. Duo hadn't said a word aside from a cordial greeting throughout the exchange. He had been biding his time sitting uncomfortably at the table devouring anything that came within arm's reach of him. He looked back and forth between the two as he chewed on a biscuit. They seemed to be at an impasse. Heero didn't seem comfortable pushing for what he wanted and Relena was having trouble absorbing what all of this meant.

"You don't like people to die, right?" Duo blurted, his voice cutting through the tension that had solidified in the center of the table. Relena looked over at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course I don't."

"Well the way I see it all you Pacifists got it all wrong. People are always going to act like animals. You know this. Some people can't see reason. Some folks can't understand rules and law and logic. All they can understand is a guy with a really big stick. You all banned mobile dolls. I thought it was a good idea at the time, too. Mobile dolls are fucking horrible. They are unfair. They don't sleep, they don't eat and they never rest. Someone with a mobile doll army could threaten the lives and safety of the entire Earth-Sphere. You know about what happened in space, right? The rule is no mobile dolls, but guess what? Some asshole with a pocket full of money decided he wanted to have them and fuck the rest of us. Preventer made those Taurus suits because the they understand you can't bring a knife to a gunfight. I know you think people are going to transcend this way of thinking. I know you have to set an example, but how many more secret mobile doll armies is it gonna take to attack the colonies before you guys finally wake up? Don't be offended when I say this, but you guys on the planet don't have to live with the result of your laws. You aren't the ones threatened by hidden enemies. You have whole continents of people to back you up if something attacks you. Out on L2, and jeez way out in L3 there is nobody to protect you. You've made us all into soft targets. Our hands are tied behind ours backs up there. We can't protect ourselves and by the time the Earth-Sphere police show up on our door the bad guys have already had their way with us and pushed our shit in. Isn't it time to fight fire with fire?"

Relena had straightened in her seat at his rant. "That is precisely the problem, Duo. You are still thinking violence will stop the cycle. It won't. Violence begets violence."

Duo frowned and tried to take a sip of his coffee only to find it was empty. He saw that Heero had slid his mug toward him. He accepted it, took an irritated chug from it and let the mug slam loudly on the table.

"See, here is your problem. You want peace but you don't want to sacrifice anything to get it. You gotta give something. Giving up weapons is a noble idea, but how much human life will disarmament cost?"

Heero had taken his coffee back and was sipping it casually beside him. Clearly he was completely comfortable letting Duo take the reigns on this.

"War is like an angry god. He shows up every now and then and wants his sacrifice. So every time we obediently feed him civilians and soldiers and hope he doesn't come back. Except now you are refusing to feed him at all. He's gonna come back, it's inevitable. We gotta sacrifice something. Preventer seems to think that you and Heero are worth sacrificing but it won't be enough. Why do we have to give human lives to this thing? We live in an age where everything can be done for us with technology. The bad guys know this. They don't even fight for themselves anymore and yet here we are restricting ourselves to the limitations of human ability. You guys like to pride yourselves on being morally superior, right? What's moral about giving up a human life to stop something that has no life of its own? I dunno about you, but I don't think that is a fair exchange."

Duo had never talked this much in front of Relena before. He couldn't help but feel insecure. She was regarding him with her default thoughtful politician expression. It was putting him on edge. He retreated back to the task of filling his mouth with goodies from the tray in the center of the table to keep himself from ranting on any further.

"I will see what I can do. It may take some time. Can I keep this information?" She gestured with her hand to the file. Heero nodded in response. She gathered the file between her hands and stood up. Heero jumped to his feet and hurried to pull her chair for her. Duo stood up and smiled at her as she have him a small nod and turned to leave. Heero had gone to walk her to her car. Once she was clear of the cafe door Duo groaned and slumped down into his chair and finished Heero's coffee for him.

Hearing Relena putting a voice to the doubts they had already harbored about the plan only seemed to make things worse. He had felt confident that this would be the perfect solution when they were at the Preventer sector on the Lunar Base, but now that they were here on Earth and surrounded by the nightmare reality of bureaucratic bullshit that was the United Earth-Sphere Unified Nations he was feeling pretty dismal about the entire plan.

After a few minutes Heero had returned and returned to his seat beside him. He stared down at his now empty coffee cup but didn't say anything.

"You think she can make it happen?" Duo had finally inquired. Heero shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

"I have no idea. I think it may be best if we develop a plan B. She doesn't doesn't seem optimistic," Heero said quietly.

Duo felt his stomach flip. Heero losing confidence on a plan was always a bad sign. He frowned and reached over to grab his partner's shoulder with a firm squeeze.

"Don't worry. We'll figure something out, right? Or maybe you could just run away with me to Jupiter or something. You don't have to do this, ya know? Nobody is making you."

Heero glanced over at him and nodded. "Yes, I know. But I agreed to it. I do believe in the cause. Things… weren't this complicated before you came along." Duo watched as the other agent turned back to the empty cup and stared down at it expressionless.

"You trying to say I'm nothing but trouble?" Duo asked with a grin. Heero nodded. Duo playfully smacked him on the back and cackled. "You must love trouble!"

"I do." Heero said faintly down into his empty cup. "And that's my problem."

Part Two

"I can't say I'm not disappointed in you, Mister Yuy. You were the last one I had expected to disobey my direct order," Director Une was chastising them from across her desk. Duo clenched his hands around his knees and bit his tongue. There was something about watching Heero get lectured that just got his blood boiling.

"I apologize," Heero replied calmly. "But I felt that Agent Maxwell's piloting skills would greatly benefit the doctor's test and provide us with optimum results. I was fully aware of his ban against piloting a mobile suit. "

Une had frowned and was studying the data Heero had provided her on a tablet. She tapped her fingernail gently against the screen as she began skimming through the information. "You will have to excuse my ignorance, but this raw data means nothing to me."

Heero was seated at the edge of his seat with perfect posture. Duo saw his eyes narrowing with a hint of determination.

"It's an alternative to Princess Aurora. Dr. J and I have developed a combined system using the Preventer's Wing-One pilot interface and Snow White's ZERO system. The doctor has chosen to call the combined systems ARMISTICE. I have uploaded all of my skills and abilities into the system. The Gundam is enhanced with my A.I. but must be guided by a human pilot. I had Agent Maxwell bond with the A.I. and perform a series of missions. It will need some minor adjustment to the interfacing but the entire test has exceeded Dr. J's expectations. He has included his observations and personal statements within the diagnostics."

Duo watched as Director Une fished carefully through the information. "You are aware of Preventer's standing policy against the use of mobile doll technology and artificial intelligence?"

Duo bristled. Heero nodded. "I am," the Japanese agent said coolly. "I'm aware that this alternative has its controversy. However, I feel that in the long run it will be a more worthwhile alternative."

"You will allow us ten business days to put this proposal under review," the Director said smoothly as she turned off the tablet and folded her hands on top of its darkened screen. "During which time you will be required to stay within the boundaries of the Cinq Kingdom. This means no more sneaking off planet Mister Maxwell."

Duo blinked. He saw Director Une was smiling at him. He rubbed the back of his head and chuckled.

Part Three

Duo couldn't run anymore. The stabbing pains in his sides were too intense. He stumbled to a stop and grabbed his knees and tried to steady himself. He knew stopping abruptly and holding still after running was a bad idea but he couldn't take the cramping anymore. He swallowed hard to keep from heaving and grabbed frantically for the water bottle attached at his hip.

He felt a hand take the bottle from his waist and hand it to him. He took it gratefully and sloshed the warm water into his mouth before spitting it out onto the cobblestone street. He looked up to see Trowa smirking down at him.

"Come on, you need to walk those cramps out." Trowa urged him. He had grabbed his shoulders and was trying to straighten him out. Duo saw Quatre and Heero jog up behind him. Quatre's worried expression made him laugh.

"I'm fine! I'm fine, just can't keep up with you guys that's all." Duo panted as he let Trowa drag him into a brisk walk. Quatre was jogging in place beside him. His pale blue shirt was plastered to his chest with sweat. Duo couldn't help but feel a hint of jealousy as his companion's physiques. They had all progressively gotten stronger. Duo had stopped working out altogether once he had taken the job at the college on X-18999 and now he was paying for it.

"Who… who runs marathons* for... fun anyway…" Duo grumbled between gasps. He saw Quatre smirk.

"Sorry, Duo. I guess this was a bad idea. I didn't think-"

"Oh shut up, it's fine... Go on, keep going without me I'll meet you at the finish... okay?" Duo urged them with his biggest smile. Quatre was reluctant, but Trowa had taken the hint. He gave him a little wave and grabbed Quatre's arm and began dragging him back into the race. Duo groaned once they were out of earshot and took a long swig of water. He hadn't done too terribly at the beginning but after that twelfth mile he had felt like he was going to die. Heero had stayed behind and was walking silently by his side.

"Aren't you going to finish?"

"Why?" The Japanese agent had raised an eyebrow at him.

"Don't you want to win?"

"It's not about winning," Heero replied. Duo frowned and shook his head.

"Everyone wants to win, Heero. I mean, shit. Look at you, you aren't even sweating."

"I don't need to test myself. I know what my limits are," Heero said coolly. Duo rolled his eyes and returned his bottle to its clip on his waist. He put his hands on his hips and tried to ignore the now throbbing aches in his sides.

Other competitors began rushing past them as they walked. Duo was done. His feet were killing him and his whole body had begun an aggravated protest. He hadn't trained at all for this.

Things were so much different now than they had been when he was in Preventer months before. He and Heero used to run every day after work. Duo had been in decent condition then but he had lost that routine and the will to take care of himself once he moved to X-18999. He had been depressed with no extra energy to spend. His routine had developed into the typical work, eat and sleep grind most adults found themselves in.

He had missed the Cinq Kingdom**. It really was a beautiful place. He looked up at the trees flanking the marathon path. They were emerald green and hung low and heavy with broad, tender leaves. The sky was clear and the natural sun was hot against his back. He had missed feeling real sunlight against his skin. He had missed his old routine, and his old friends and the the health and happiness he had before.

It had been three days since they had seen Une about the alternative ARMISTICE plan. Heero had spoken to Relena right before they started the marathon and she had told him that so far she had amassed forty percent of the representatives in council in support of amending the law. Heero had seemed satisfied with her progress. Duo didn't think it was good enough.

They broke off of the marathon path and began walking casually down a familiar street that ran alongside a large canal. He had lived in a small apartment only a block away from the area the locals referred to as Nyhavn*** before he had quit Preventer. He took in the narrow road and smiled. Everything was the same as it was before he left. The aromatic bread shop was still on the corner with its toasted loaves out on display in the curtained window. He popped inside and bought an enormous box of various Danish pastries and devoured one as they continued their walk down the street.

"All the world's problem can be solved with raspberry filling," Duo said cheerfully as they wandered the city. They were nearing the end of Nyhavn and approaching a more modern area. The end of the marathon would be near the heart of the city by the war memorial he and Hilde had visited together when she had been there last.

He had just seen the enormous obelisk come into view in the distance when he felt something brush his fingertips. He paused and looked over his shoulder to see that Heero had stopped a few feet behind him.

"Hey what's wrong?" Duo doubled back and gave him a worried look. He saw the dark blue of Heero's eyes glisten with what he could only describe as mischief. The Japanese agent reached up to brush his finger firmly against the corner of Duo's mouth. Duo could see a smudge of red jelly from his danish on the tip of his finger as his partner pulled the finger away and popped it casually into his own mouth to suck it clean.

"My apartment is half a block away from here," Heero said in a low voice. "We should go there. I need to pay my reparations."

Duo grinned from ear to ear and slipped his hand into Heero's and chuckled. "Lead the way!"

* * *

* 1 Marathon = 26.2 Miles (42 Kilometers)

** According to Gundam Wikia the Cinq Kingdom (Sanc Kingdom): 'Going by maps shown in the series, and several other hints (such as the Royal Copenhagen Noin serves Relena with in _Frozen Teardrop_ ), Sanc Kingdom is likely located in or was once part of Denmark.' For the purposes of this fic I am going to treat its position and culture as that of Copenhagen.

*** "Nyhavn is a 17th-century waterfront, canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Stretching from Kongens Nytorv to the harbour front just south of the Royal Playhouse, it is lined by brightly coloured 17th and early 18th century townhouses and bars, cafes and restaurants. The canal harbours many historical wooden ships." - Source: Wikipedia.


	37. Chapter 37

Part One

Duo had been paid his reparations in full. Twice.

"You and that fucking mouth," he said breathlessly as Heero started creeping up the length of his body. He could see the former Wing pilot's lips were pink and slightly swollen from finishing the arduous task of giving him his spectacular brand of mind boggling head. Duo was still seeing intermingling glowing splotches of blue and yellow light swirling together like a Van Gogh painting on the ceiling*. Eventually the image was eclipsed by Heero's shadowy face. Duo grabbed him by the back of the neck and kissed him. He could taste his own sweet, slightly metallic cum still on his tongue. He groaned and tried to grab for Heero's very apparent arousal but his partner had grabbed his wrist and deflected his touch.

"Come on, are you serious? Just a little bit…" Duo whined. He gave Heero his best theatrical pout. He could hear him sigh before he dropped his face to his ear and breathed lightly against his earlobe. The warmth of his breath tickling his flesh made Duo's lips tingle.

"We have to meet Quatre and Trowa in thirty minutes," Heero murmured before he began systematically licking and nipping his way down the side of his neck. Duo groaned and grit his teeth. He could feel a shock wave of burning arousal begin to flow from his crotch all the way up into his chest. He swallowed hard and bit back a moan as Heero grabbed the sides of his chest with his hands and let his thumb ghost over his right nipple. His most sensitive one. Heero knew every button to push to get him going.

Duo scowled. "If we gotta go then why are you trying to get me all hot and bothered, huh?"

He felt Heero's tumescent lips form a smile against the tingling skin on his neck. "If my body has to be left unsatisfied, so will yours," Heero growled.

Before Duo could respond the former Wing pilot bit viciously into the skin at the base of his throat and began to suck forcefully at it. He dropped his body so that their naked frames were touching from chest to pelvis. Duo became very aware of Heero's hard-on as it started rocking and rubbing against his own. He tried to push at Heero's shoulders but his arms were weakened by his two previous climaxes and he couldn't budge him. His subsequent moan was riddled with his own raucous laughter.

"No! Aw shit… You… hahahaaha are evil!" He couldn't stop laughing. Finally the acute suction against his throat was released. Heero rolled quickly out of the way before Duo could land a fist to his head.

"Clean yourself up," Heero said with a smirk. Duo launched a pillow at his face and missed.

Part Two

Twenty minutes later they had made it to the pub. Quatre and Trowa were seated at a booth by the entrance. Duo smiled and gave Quatre a wave as the blond flagged them down. He slipped into the booth and shuffled over so that he was opposite of Trowa. Heero dropped down next to him and began taking off his light coat** and fold it over his lap. Duo tugged at the thin black sweater he had borrowed from Heero's apartment. The neckline was just low enough to keep the enormous angry red hickey the Japanese agent had given him on the center of his throat exposed. Duo saw Trowa watching him closely.

"Hey, sorry we didn't make it to the end of the race. Got kinda distracted," Duo attempted to explain. He saw Trowa nod his head and fold his hands on the top of the table.

"That's alright. Looks like Heero's been busy distracting you," Trowa said with a taunting smile. Duo scowled and saw Quatre lift a fisted hand and press it politely to his mouth to try and stifle his laughter. Heero had folded his arms over his chest and to Duo's surprise had smirked across the table at Trowa.

"Pretty impressive, Heero. How long did that one take you?" Trowa asked conversationally.

"Nineteen seconds," Heero replied flatly. Quatre couldn't hold in his laughter anymore and began snickering quietly behind his hand.

"Oh my GOD would you two just shut up? Someone get me a drink!'

Eventually beverages began to appear on the wooden table. Duo grabbed a large glass of mead and began chugging it down as fast as he could.

"How are the legal proceedings against Leonard Cadence going? Have you already testified?" Heero asked as he held his ale in a tall glass between his hands. Quatre nodded and took a long sip of his coffee and smiled.

"Yes. It went well enough. The Earth-Sphere has already started the sentencing phase of his trial. It has been a rather speedy process. He has plead guilty to every charge against him. His daughter is a different story. She is still denying her involvement with her father." Quatre reported with a sigh. "It really is a shame. I haven't had any word from the colony about Ira Tull and his situation. It must be tough to be going through all of this and having lost his father."

Duo frowned and pushed his own empty glass away from himself and watched as Trowa shifted his weight to nudge Quatre's shoulder with his own. The blond smiled and shrugged the heaviness from the conversation away.

Duo knew that Quatre had lost his own father during the time they had been working through Operation Meteor. He had heard from Wufei that Quatre's father Zayeed had refused to side with OZ, unlike the rest of the colonies. It was that refusal that had put him in OZ's sights. He had been killed trying to escape the colony he had spent his entire life and fortune building and supporting.*** After that Quatre hadn't been the same. He seemed more distant, and less open than he had when they had first met him. He was still an optimist for peace, but Duo always felt like Quatre harbored a little more resentment for space than he had before. Even if he never showed it.

"I heard you guys went to the Lunar Base this weekend," Trowa swiftly changed the subject.

"Yes. I have a new proposal for Preventer regarding Princess Aurora." Heero said plainly. Duo saw Quatre brighten at the idea.

"Really? I hope it has nothing to do with cryostasis," the former Sandrock pilot's was leaning across the table, waiting eagerly to hear the news. Heero outlined the concepts for him. It was a different kind of conversation compared to the one they had had with Relena and Une. Quatre was the most knowledgeable about mobile suit construction of them all. He had been responsible for the emergency construction of Heero's Wing Zero and was involved in the development of his own Sandrock Gundam before becoming its pilot.

Trowa had been a mechanic for Heavyarms before he had taken the place of the real Trowa Barton. They both knew the ins and outs of Gundam technology. Heero didn't have to go into much detail to explain to them what the plan entailed.

"That is a sound plan," Trowa finally replied. He sipped at a tall glass of grog as he rolled the cocktail umbrella that came with it between his fingers. "What did Une say?"

"She said it is under review," Duo grumbled as he finished off his second drink and leaned past Heero to snatch up his third. "Preventer is a piece of shit."

Quatre coughed as he choked on his coffee at that statement. Trowa was watching him from the opposite side of the table with his usual calm, interested expression. "Why do you say that?"

"They don't make any sense. I liked the idea at first. Get a bunch of great people together to fight for others. Help to stop weapons developing. Intervene when there are outbreaks of violence. It isn't that simple anymore. Just like everything else they have their rules, and they don't bend them. When they reamed me for saving Heero's life I kinda lost my love for them." Duo leaned back against the booth and took a long swig of his mead. His head was starting to feel a tad bit airy but he wasn't going to hold back. At this point he didn't care if it was unethical for him to be trashing the organization in the middle of Cinq. He was tired of tiptoeing around the problem.

"Back in the day it all was top secret. The only person anyone had to answer to was Une. Sure the ESUN sponsored it but they kept their fuckin' noses out of it. As long as the job got done, it didn't matter. But just like everything the government sticks its dick into the damn thing is now over complicated. I mean, RELENA is involved in decision making through Preventer now? When the fuck did that happen? The world doesn't need more government oversight. It needs someone who is gonna quietly walk in and bash some heads together and get the job done. The guy bashing heads shouldn't have to write ten pages of report, stand in front of a board and defend his decisions. If they were reasonable and right, it shouldn't be that fucking complicated. But then you got all these rich folks who support the organization, right? They want to feel like they contributed so they start making up their own 'rules' so they can feel special and feel like they got to contribute to the damn thing and pretty soon you got a five hundred page mission statement sitting on your fucking desk. I think that's why Wufei left. He was fucking tired of it, too." Duo grumbled into his mead. He looked up to see Quatre sitting stoically with his fingers curled tightly around his coffee mug.

"It's too bad we can't just make our own organization," Trowa said casually as he opened and closed his little umbrella.

Duo finished off his third drink and nodded his head enthusiastically. "Yeah! That's what we need. Get a bunch of people who are willing to do the damn thing and get shit done. Fuck Preventer." Duo's barking laugh filled the booth as he swayed back and forth in his seat with a grin. He was feeling a little tipsy. He glanced over and saw Heero was looking down into his half empty ale with a thoughtful expression. Duo abruptly wrapped his arm around his shoulder and shook him playfully and forced Heero's glass of ale to the former Wing pilot's lips. "No more thinking about this shit, okay? Tonight we don't have any problems!"

Two hours later Duo was drunkenly dragging an equally inebriated Heero out of the pub.

"Honestly! It isn't a problem, let me call a cab for you at least!" Quatre was calling out from behind them desperately as they started making their way down the street.

"Nah nah nah it's fine we only gotta go like a few blocks I need the exercise anyway goodnight QUATRE! TROWA! EVERYBODY!" Duo yelled out into the night air as he rounded the corner with Heero in tow. To the casual observer Heero didn't appear to be very intoxicated but upon closer inspection his normally even and confident gait was afflicted by the occasional stagger and his normally intense expression had been replaced by that of carefree contentment. Duo had hooked his arm around the Japanese agent and was leaning heavily against him as they went.

"Where are we going?" Heero asked in a low voice.

"To the moon, baby!" Duo exclaimed up to the open sky as they meandered through the streets beside the canal. "I got somewhere I wanna take you, kay?"

"Kay." Heero replied.

* * *

* Synesthesia : "production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation of another sense or part of the body." - Source: Google. Some people experience what is loosely called orgasm synesthesia where they experience flashing lights and colors before, during and after climax.

** Copenhagen in June has an average temperature of 59°F (15°C).

** Source- Gundam Wing Episode 21: "Grief Stricken Quatre"


	38. Chapter 38

"This is trespassing," Heero protested as Duo began scaling a cragged brick wall with ease despite his own blatant drunkenness.

"Shhh, shuddup or someone'll hear you," he whispered harshly. "I used to do this every weekend. It's fine. Stop being such a chickenshit and get the hell up here."

The aged brick walls were easy to climb. Duo had memorized each hand and foothold after scaling this wall many times in the past. He climbed casually up through the shadows until he had made it to the roof four stories above the dim, narrow industrial alleyway. He hauled himself over the edge before turning around to peer down at his companion who was reluctantly following suit. He could see Heero struggling to find the correct handholds as he inched his way up the face of the old brewery wall. The very bricks themselves seeped with the scent of old, stale beer. The sour, skunky scent floated on the breeze and stifled the fresh salty smell of the sea from the nearby harbor. Luckily they both were pretty well gone by now and the scent was no more offensive than the heavy fumes of alcohol already lingering on their breaths.

Heero had finally made it to the top. Duo grabbed him by his coat and yanked him over the narrow eave. Heero landed heavily on his hands and knees and looked up at him with a halfhearted glare. "What are we doing up here?"

"I already told you, we're goin' to the moon!"

Duo grabbed the former Wing pilot by his upper arm and began leading him cautiously through the shadows towards the rear side of the building. Finally they emerged from the darkness to be greeted by an enormous, twenty foot sign in the shape of the moon. Accurate depictions of the craters and mares were painted expertly across its glowing surface. "Merry Moon Ale" had been painted across the face in long, stylized strokes.

It was erected on a wooden stand facing out over the water. Duo laughed and released Heero's arm and sat down on the platform of the moon's frame and looked out over the quiet city harbor. A large cruise ship was moored nearby to the docks. Its festive lights cast twinkling starbursts of light across the water creating the illusion of distant galaxies and mysterious worlds along its rising surface.

Heero had taken a seat beside him and was looking out over the water in silence. Duo let the silence linger between them for a while. There wasn't much that needed to be said.

Duo took a deep breath and leaned back on his hands and tilted his head to regard the actual moon which was slowly dropping itself down towards the horizon. It was in its waxing crescent phase* and only appeared to be a narrow sliver clinging precariously to the rooftops across the water. Sometimes when it was in the gibbous phase he could spot the small blemish that was L1 hovering over its pearly face.

Only the weekend before had he been up there on the lunar surface working on the ARMISTICE program with Heero and Dr. J. Despite how many times he had seen the moon from space, or even from its own surface, there was just something special about seeing it from the surface of Earth. It was more mysterious, more allusive.

His entire life before Operation Meteor he had despised the Earth. He knew now that most of those feelings had been set within jealousy that others got a chance to experience the planet in their daily lives, while people like himself could only imagine what life was like on that distant blue marble***.

Now he had a different perspective of the world. He had actually experienced it outside of the cockpit of a mobile suit and it was more than he could ever have imagined. It saddened him that there were people out in space who would never know what the wind felt like through your hair, or what a cool salty ocean breeze tasted like.

"What's your favorite color?" Heero said quietly, breaking their bond of silence. Duo blinked and looked over at the Japanese agent. He was staring at the open harbor with a calm, speculative expression. Duo was taken aback. He couldn't remember a time where Heero had ever asked him anything personal about himself that was unrelated to missions, piloting or a task at hand.

"Uh, red." Duo said plainly. "What about you?"

"Blue."

He nodded and found himself studying the profile of Heero's face illuminated by the faint, sparkling lights from the cruise ship. He really was the most beautiful person Duo had ever seen. He automatically frowned at the thought and tried to turn his face away but he couldn't break his stare. Heero hadn't noticed him watching him and those were the moments Duo enjoyed seeing the most. He saw his friend take a deep breath through his nose and close his eyes as a chilly wind blasted across his face. In that moment he didn't look real. Maybe it was the alcohol, the lighting or the fact that it was almost midnight and he was exhausted but he could have sworn he saw a faint blue aura surrounding his face for a fraction of a second. Duo rubbed his eyes with his fingers and grunted in an attempt to wake up from his daydreaming.

"I have something to tell you," Heero finally said, his voice barely audible over the white noise filling his ears from the wind. Duo nodded and leaned in closer so he could hear him better. He could feel his braid whipping against his back, agitated by the breeze. He grabbed it and tucked it securely over his shoulder.

"Yeah, what?"

He watched as Heero clench his hands tightly as if trying to find the will to say what he needed to say. Duo frowned and leaned in closer. He placed a hand gently on his shoulder and smiled at him. "Don't think about it. Just say it, right?"

Heero's eyes opened and he turned to look at him. "I'm gay."

Duo watched as the former Wing pilot shifted uncomfortably and stiffened his shoulders as if the very words had burned his tongue on their way out of him. He stared at him for a long moment, trying to get his drunken mind to process his words. He bit his lip and felt a snort rising in him but attempted to suppress it.

"Uh. I hate to break it to you, Heero. But … I kinda already knew that. Ya know, since I have been the one fucking you for the past couple years now…" Duo said slowly, unsure what his response to this should be. He would have thought this was a joke, but Heero didn't joke around about things like that. It just wasn't his style.

"No. I mean, yes. I don't mean it like that. I'm not… like you." Heero said firmly, borrowing Duo's own words.

"Like me? Whaddya mean?" Duo began his line of questioning, his own muddled brain trying to process the conversation. Suddenly the proverbial light bulb burst to life in his head. _Holy. Shit. He's. Gay._

A tsunami of realization began to flood into his mind. Heero was gay. He wasn't like him. The Japanese pilot meant he was exclusively into guys, and not like himself. Duo wasn't sure if he was bi, or pan, or a unicorn but he knew he was open minded. Heero was trying to tell him he wasn't.

"So what if you're gay? What's the problem with that? I still like you. None of the other guys are going to care." Duo tried on his best reassuring smile and patted Heero's back firmly. He wished he knew what else to say and cursed himself for drinking as heavily as he did. He should have held back and let Heero let loose for once. He should have been the one taking care of him instead. Now here they were and Heero was letting him in and he wasn't ready for him.

"You wanted to know what happened between Relena and I," Heero said quietly. He had turned to look back at the open water again. The expression on his face was empty. So empty that it almost broke Duo's heart to see it, because he knew that somewhere behind the mask Heero was struggling with telling him his secret. "I told her I was gay."

Duo frowned and nodded his head. "So, what did she say when you told her?"

"She said she wanted me to have some time to make sure it was true. She wanted me to go … be gay somewhere… and then come back and tell her for sure if that was how I really felt. She decided to try it too. This isn't just an experiment for me. This isn't just a phase. I have felt this way my entire life. I just … "

Watching Heero struggle through his words was painful. Duo had never seen him so unsure about anything. He wanted to interrupt him and tell him he was going to be okay, and that Relena could go fuck herself because she couldn't possibly understand but he couldn't bring himself to. The sad reality was Duo didn't know what it was like, either. He knew he couldn't possibly understand what Heero was going through, or what his feelings were about Relena.

"I just need to protect her. I can't explain it. I feel like she's the person I am destined to serve. I knew that from the moment I saw her on that beach." Heero's words began to sound more confident. Duo nodded and put his hand on the top of one of friend's balled fists. Heero's fist unfurled at his touch and flattened against his thigh. Duo splayed his fingers to cover it.

"I know she is the person the future needs. Both Milliardo and I had the same vision.*** I knew for sure then that I would need to be the person to protect her. I needed to honor the real Heero Yuy^* and ensure that Relena carries on his vision. I thought being with her would be the best decision. I just couldn't…" Heero's eyes squinted and he turned to look at him. Duo saw his jaw was clenched and his entire body appeared so tense he was convinced the guy was going to spontaneously combust. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to fix this. He didn't know what he could say to make him feel better or to make everything make sense. He was at a loss.

He watched as Heero lifted a hand and covered his face with it. It was something he hadn't seen him do in years. It was like he was trying to hide from everything and everyone. Like he couldn't bare to exist anymore. Without thinking Duo reached out to grab his arm and yanked it hard. Luckily the former Wing pilot's reflexes had been dulled by his drinks and it took very little effort for him to force Heero down against his own chest and bear hug him. He felt his friend tense as he was grabbed and Duo braced himself for a punch that never came.

It was the only thing he could think to do. Hilde had held him when he cried and it had been the most comforting thing anyone had ever done for him. He had needed it. He wanted Heero to have it too.

He felt his friend hesitate before leaning his face heavily against his chest. Duo felt his arms slip around his waist and hug him back.

"You keep saying shit about the real Heero Yuy," Duo said with a frown. He rested his chin on top of Heero's fluffy head and squeezed him hard. "You're the real Heero Yuy now. Stop living like you're just someone else's ghost."

To Duo's surprise he felt the other pilot's shoulders shake once but no sound accompanied it. He sat quietly while the wind whipped at their backs with his arms wrapped firmly around his friend. He didn't know if this would help Heero, but he was prepared to hold him together for as long as he needed him to.

* * *

* A moon waxes when the amount of illuminated surface as seen from Earth is increasing. A waxing crescent is the optimal time to take in all of the details of lunar craters.

** T _he Blue Marble_ is an image of the Earth made on December 7, 1972, by the crew of the Apollo 17 spacecraft at a distance of about 45,000 kilometers (28,000 miles). It is one of the most reproduced images in human history. - Source: Wikipedia.

*** Gundam Wing Episode 46: "Milliardo's Decision" - Heero rescues Relena while she is trapped on board battleship Libra and faces off with her brother. Milliardo and Heero both decide that they will fight, but that Relena needed to live to ensure peace in the future.

^* Heero was given the code name "Heero Yuy" by Dr. J to commemorate his old friend the politician Heero Yuy who had united the colonies and had preached a message of pacifism and disarmament. April 7, AC 175 the pacifist Heero Yuy was killed by an assassin named Odin Lowe, who in Frozen Teardrop was revealed to be the Gundam pilot Heero's biological father. Twenty years later was the start of Operation Meteor in AC 195. The Gundam pilot Heero was born 5 years after the original Heero Yuy had been assassinated. It is unknown whether Gundam pilot Heero knows anything about his father killing the real Heero Yuy. For the purposes of this fic we are going to assume he doesn't know the connection. Heero is aware his father was an assassin. In the Gundam Wing Episode Zero manga he is seen with Odin Lowe attempting to assassinate Septum. In the comic he tells child Heero, "Once some idiot fired a single shot and changed the course of history," which is definitely a reference to the fact he killed the pacifist Heero Yuy. No other details are discussed.


	39. Chapter 39

Part One

"I would like to introduce you all to our guests from the United Earth-Sphere Unified Nations. First I would like to introduce Chancellor Adjoran, representative of the first quadrant. Then we have President Samaira representing the second quadrant. Next, Premier Guangli representative of the third quadrant. Finally we have President Fuentes of the fourth."

Duo watched as Director Une introduced all of the representatives who had participated in the review of the ARMISTICE plan. The panel was split evenly down the center with the women on one side and men on the other. All but one had a stern, foreboding expression on their faces. The last woman on the panel, President Fuentes, was smiling warmly at them as she was introduced.

He glanced to his right. Heero was sitting next to him in his Preventer uniform with his usual expressionless, stony mask on. To Heero's right sat Relena looking as relaxed as any woman could look when her future was being decided by a panel of strangers. Duo saw that her hands were folded neatly on her skirted lap. Just beyond Relena sat Noin who had her arms tightly crossed over her jacketed chest. Duo wondered how Noin felt about the whole Princess Aurora thing. Because she was a founding member she now outranked him significantly. He hardly ever spoke to her anymore. She was always tied up with Sally and Une in an endless cycle of meetings and conferences.

He could feel Trowa and Quatre's quiet presences behind him. They were no longer active members of Preventer but Une had given them special permission to sit in on this hearing. Behind them Agent Po was standing in the doorway to the conference room to make sure the meeting could commence without any interruption.

"I, along with this panel, have thoroughly reviewed the ARMISTICE plan proposed by Captain Yuy with the guidance of Doctor Jay Null*, head of the Princess Aurora project. All aspects of this plan appear to be sound and thoroughly researched. An attempt has been made to amend the Articles of Disarmament to make a special exception for this new technology under the Mobile Doll Ban Act. A vote was held at the ESUN last night, and the result was against the amendment. Taking that into consideration this panel cannot approve of ARMISTICE as it stands now," Une reported in her usual commanding voice.

Duo felt his heart drop into his stomach, flip through his pelvis and land in his feet. He wanted to throw up. He knew his face must have revealed his apparent disgust with the decision because he saw the eyes of the men and women on the panel settle upon him.

He felt Trowa's hand land reassuringly on his shoulder. He glanced to his right and saw Heero's left hand was clenched into a tight fist while the other was holding one of Relena's. Duo could see Relena staring down at Heero's hand wrapped around her own with a blank stare. She looked stunned, like she had not expected this result.

Duo couldn't take it anymore. He shrugged Trowa's hand from his shoulder and stood up. He wanted to scream at everyone in the room for being so ridiculous and stupid. He wanted to throw a chair at the panel and punch Une in the face and lament to anyone who would listen about how unfair this whole fucking thing was.

 _Be professional…_ he could hear Heero's silky, low voice repeating over and over in his head. He cursed his eidetic memory, grit his teeth, grumbled a weak "fuck this shit" under his breath and shoved past Sally and retreated out the door.

He felt numb. He was over it. He didn't have any more tears left to shed for this lost cause. He knew Heero wouldn't deny the call to serve Relena. Heero holding her hand had proved it. So what if the guy was gay. That didn't mean he wouldn't stay with her out of some warped sense of duty. He had already admitted as much to Duo.

He was running. He didn't know where to, he just knew he had to get as far away from Preventer as he could before his anger reared its vicious head through his protective numb cocoon. He knew that if he was anywhere near the headquarters when Une walked the dignitaries out to their cars someone was bound to get hurt and it definitely wasn't going to be him.

 _I can't win. All of that work. All of the training for nothing. This was all for nothing. I was stupid to think that things would ever change. I have no power. I have no say in anything. I'm the weakest player in this fucking game._

His lungs were burning and his legs were pleading for him to stop but he couldn't obey. He ran until he came to the end of the road to a dock that extended out over the harbor. He walked out to the end of it and felt the sun's retreating rays lingering against his back. He saw his oblong and misshapen shadow looking up at him from the water below. He was just beginning to wonder how long he could stay in the harbor's cold waters** before he perished from hypothermia when the pocket of his jacket vibrated. He pulled it out to check his incoming call and saw Hilde's smiling avatar grinning radiantly up at him. He let his finger hover over the answer button before thinking better of it and sent her directly to voicemail instead.

 _I can't bring her down with me. Not right now. She doesn't deserve that. It isn't fair that she has to keep absorbing my drama._ He began to feel guilty for even thinking about hypothermia. He knew he could never kill himself. He never wanted Hilde or his friends to feel the same way he felt when he had lost Solo. He couldn't bring himself to be selfish enough to let any of them suffer the guilt or heartache that came with a suicide of a friend.

He sat down on the edge of the dock and let his legs dangle over the water as it lapped and sucked the barnacled posts beneath him. He rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands and tried to blink away the tension that had been gradually building in the spot behind his eyes.

Une's earlier proclamation was still ringing through his ears. Memories began to bounce around erratically in his head. Words and phrases from other people were beginning to join in with his already tumultuous thoughts.

He could hear Dr. J telling him Heero needed people to love him and Relena's reprimand about violence begetting violence. He could hear Trowa telling him that Heero was probably feeling alone.

 _Preventer takes everything from you_ , Wufei's sentiment landed heavily in the center of the storm of sound and broke through to demand his focus. He frantically put his hands over his ears and shut his eyes in an attempt to mute the maelstrom of voices pounding within his head.

"Stop…" he whispered a weak and desperate plea to the relentless demons plaguing his thoughts. He couldn't hear his own voice over the rising clamor of memories sweeping through his consciousness. The pressure building within his head was overwhelming him. He slammed his hands against the weather worn wooden planks of the dock and screamed.

Part Two

"The Final Countdown" by Europe was playing loudly against the side of Duo's head. He twitched and groaned as his ring tone tugged at his swollen brain and commanded his attention. He began fumbling blindly beneath his head for it. It stopped ringing just as he found it tangled within the messy heap that was his braided hair. He squinted down at the lit screen and saw that he had three missed calls from Heero.

The sight of the other agent's name on the screen made him groan. He draped his arm over his eyes and swallowed hard. He was hung over. Big time. He peeked around his arm and stared up at the ceiling. It took him an entire minute before he realized he didn't recognize it.

He sat up quickly and immediately regretted it. He bit back the bile that was burning the back of his throat and looked around frantically at his unfamiliar surroundings. He was laying on a plush purple blanket and pillow on the floor of a tiny studio apartment littered with kush bowls and empty beer bottles. He saw something moving on the bed in the corner of the room. A girl with bright red hair sat up from a pile of blankets. She rubbed her forehead and looked over at him and smiled. She was naked. Duo blinked and immediately felt himself up. He was thankfully fully clothed except for his jacket, which was balled up on the floor beside him. His shirt was untucked and askew. He took stock of his entire body just to be sure.

 _Oh God… please… tell me I didn't fuck anyone last night… please…_ as far as he could tell his crotch had been left undisturbed.

He couldn't remember the redhead at all. He didn't know how he got to this apartment. The last thing he remembered he was at the pub sitting next to some random guy. He had been speaking in Spanish and at the time Duo didn't have a clue what he the hell he was saying. He had never been one to be picky at a bar. He was getting free shots and someone new to throw them back with and that had been good enough for him.

The pile of blankets on the bed began to shift again and the vaguely familiar dark features of the Spanish guy from the bar appeared from the haphazard tangle of naked limbs. He grinned at him and said something in his native tongue. Duo shrugged and shook his head. The Spaniard laughed and gestured to the redhead who smiled brightly and blew Duo a kiss.

"Uh, no comprendo amigo…" Duo mumbled as he tried to get up. He looked down at his phone and checked the time. It was almost ten in the morning and he was late for work. It must have been why Heero had tried to call him so many times. He grabbed his jacket and began pushing the filth on the apartment floor around with a socked foot in search of his missing shoes. As he did more naked people began to materialize in the tiny room. A young man in the buff had walked out of the bathroom and gave him a little wave. Someone was curled up snoring under the tiny table by the kitchenette and an older man was sitting outside on the balcony smoking a cigarette in nothing but a towel.

 _Jesus, who the fuck are these people?_ Duo was impressed with himself. He had managed to dodge the orgy train. He knew that despite what had happened the day before at Preventer he still considered himself in a relationship with Heero, and evidently in his drunken stupor he had managed to maintain his loyalty.

Eventually he found his shoes buried underneath someone's discarded pink bra and an empty pizza box. He shoved his feet into them quickly and began tucking his green uniform shirt in. The girl was speaking an entirely different language he didn't recognize and none of the other guests had said a word to him. The Spaniard and redhead were pantomiming to one another and laughing as they watched Duo desperately get dressed.

Finally he found all of his bits and pieces and stumbled out of the tiny apartment with a small salute. As he made his way out onto the street he began to realize that he had somehow managed to get to the complete opposite side of Cinq from the Preventer headquarters. He stumbled down the sidewalk and yanked his jacket over his shoulders before hurrying as fast as his hungover head would allow toward the city center. As he walked he thumbed through his phone to summon a ride but was interrupted by a text chiming across his screen. It was from Heero.

 _Meet me. We need to talk._

 _Bryggebroen, Havneholmen_

He stopped walking and stared at the words on the screen. It was during business hours at Preventer and Heero wasn't at the office. His foggy brain tried to make sense of it. He had come to a variety of conclusions. The previously stifled gleam of hope that had once existed within him winked to life. He didn't want to get his own hopes up, but he wasted no time running down the street towards the S-train*^ station.

Half and hour later he arrived at the Dybbølsbro station and had looked up a map of where he needed to go. He had been through this part of Cinq in the past but he had never stopped to explore it. It had begun to rain and the sidewalks and streets were crowded with patrons and tourists parading around in a sea of cheerfully colored umbrellas. Duo tugged up the collar of his jacket and zipped his coat against the cool, light summer shower.

Up ahead was a narrow canal that passed through the Havneholmen area. The Bryggebroen was a modern paved pedestrian and cyclist bridge that spanned the width of the canal. He shoved his hands into his pockets and ducked his head down against the wind that had begun to blow rain into his eyes as he made his way across the bridge. Up ahead he could see a poncho-clad cyclist speeding his way. He stepped aside to let him pass. A cluster of teenagers was standing off to the side laughing to one another. Duo noticed that the cables beneath the top railing of the bridge were covered in padlocks of various colors, sizes and shapes. The teens were writing something on a padlock with a marker as he passed them. Finally he spotted Heero. He was standing with his back facing him, but Duo could recognize the posture and presence of the former Wing pilot anywhere.

He was surprised to see that Heero wasn't wearing his uniform. Instead he was smartly dressed in a fitted light blue button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows tucked neatly into black slacks. He looked like he had just left a posh lunch with Relena. He was holding a dark blue umbrella over his shoulder and was looking down at a crowded row of padlocks nearby.

"Uh, hi…" Duo said lamely as he got within earshot. Heero turned and looked up at the sound of his voice and immediately stepped closer to meet him halfway and provide shelter for him within his umbrella. He looked gorgeous out of uniform. Duo was suddenly very aware of his unbathed, disheveled and hungover uniformed self. He tried to straighten his sleeves and avoided Heero's probing gaze.

"Where did you go last night?" Heero asked in a surprisingly forceful tone. Duo stared down at Heero's fine brown leather shoes and let his fuzzy brain debate whether to avoid the question or just tell him the truth. Finally he forced his most convincing smile and looked up at him.

"I went out and got drunk and ended up on some Spanish guy's apartment floor while he had some crazy orgy or something," he replied honestly. "It was either that or hunt down Une and vivisect her to see if she has a soul…"

Heero didn't seem bothered by his admission at all. Duo wondered if he even cared, or if he just trusted him enough to know he hadn't done anything with the people in that apartment.

The Japanese agent continued to study his face for a few quiet moments before reaching a hand out to brush Duo's wet bangs from his eyes. He blinked at him and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"So, what did you wanna talk to me about, huh? What's so important that we gotta have this conversation out in the rain?" As if on cue the light shower began to fall with more speed and substance. Heero stepped closer to him so that they were toe to toe and held the umbrella aloft between their bodies in response to the intensifying downpour.

"Do you know what these locks are for?" Heero asked casually. He gestured to the nearest row of dripping padlocks attached to the bridge's cable railing. Duo shook his head. "They are called love locks. They're supposed to symbolize a couple's eternal love and be a public representation of that bond."

Duo looked over the variety of locks. Some were rusty; others were cheap while some were clearly antique.

"Well that's cheesy," Duo said under his breath in response. He saw Heero reach into his pocket.

"You think so? Guess you wouldn't care for this then," the Japanese agent said coolly as he pulled something from his pocket and had begun to wind his arm back to launch it into the canal.

"Wait! What?!" Duo grabbed his arm to stop him from chucking the thing and stared with bewilderment as Heero dropped the arm and exposed the lock he had retrieved from his pocket. It was a large and half-moon shaped. He snatched it from his friend's hand and inspected it. The metal felt room temperature against his fingertips and was deceptively light. It had been galvanized red. He recognized the metal immediately.

"Is.. is this Gundanium?" Duo stammered as he gawked down at the lock. Heero nodded.

"Yes." The Japanese agent said plainly with a frown, obviously upset with him. Duo turned the lock over and saw that "01 + 02" had been carefully etched into the back of it. Suddenly he realized what he had done. Heero had planned on giving the lock to him in a rare sentimental gesture and he had ruined the entire thing.

"You… you had this made for me? It's red. You asked me what my favorite color was… is that why it is red?" Duo was frantically tripping over his own words. He held the lock tightly against his chest and stared wide-eyed at his partner who was glaring at him angrily. He saw Heero's eyebrow twitch.

"Yes. I had it colored this morning," Heero grumbled irritably. "Why do you always have to make everything so complicated? Just forget it. Forget everything." He tried to turn and retreat but Duo quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him backward to prevent him from escaping. The sudden assault caused Heero to lose his grip on his umbrella. As it dropped to the ground Duo kicked it out of the way and tackled his now very wet and thoroughly pissed off partner into a bone-crushing hug.

"I love it! I FUCKING LOVE THIS! Thank you. I really do. I love this." Duo rambled.

"I love you," Heero said abruptly. Duo blinked and pulled back to look into the Japanese agent's face. Heero's eyes were narrowed but shimmered with deep sincerity. "I love you, Duo. More than I could ever love anyone else."

Despite the sentiment of the gift Duo still was shocked at Heero's words. He had never in his life expected the former Wing pilot to make that confession to him. Sure, he had always known that Heero cared about him but he had assumed Heero's love had been exclusively for Relena. He had been okay with that. He had learned to live with it. Now here he was telling him otherwise. Duo didn't know what to say.

He felt his eyes begin to involuntarily burn. He sniffed loudly and grit his teeth against the tightness gathering in his throat. Heero leaned in to plant a kiss gently on his damp cheek.

"Don't cry," his friend whispered. Duo saw Heero's eyes had softened considerably. Just looking into them made him want to bawl his eyes out. He sniffed again and shook his head.

"I'm not crying. Damn rain. I got rain in my eyes…"

"Hn," Heero was evidently unconvinced. He reached out to grab the lock from Duo's hand and fished into his pocket for the key. He unlocked it and opened the clasp. He handed it to him and gestured to the railing. Duo complied and latched it to a narrow bare spot and clipped it shut. They both stood there regarding its bright metallic red sheen standing out among the drab brass locks in silence for a few moments as the rain dumped down relentlessly upon them. Finally Heero reached out and pressed the small matching red key into Duo's palm.

"Some people say you should throw it in the water to symbolize the permanence of this symbol, but I want you to keep this," Heero said, his voice permeating the loud hiss of the rain around them. "Because you have total control over me. You are my driving force. You are my key."

Duo was definitely crying now. He smiled and pocketed the key before throwing himself at Heero, causing their bodies to slap together for another sopping wet hug. He felt the former Wing pilot return the gesture with equal enthusiasm.

Duo sniffed and tried to hold back a sob. "But what about Princess Aurora?" He asked tightly as the dark reminder of Heero's impending sleep forced its way into their tender moment.

He felt one of Heero's hands sliding up the center of his back gently. "It's time for plan B," Heero murmured against his ear.

Duo grinned. "You got a plan B?"

"Yes, and I'm going to need your help." Heero said quietly as the rain continued to cascade over their interlocked bodies.

"Of course I'll help you. What are friends for?"

* * *

* It was revealed in Frozen Teardrop that Dr. J's real name is "Jay Null" and that he went to school with the pacifist Heero Yuy. Heero occasionally refers to him in this story as "Jay".

** Copenhagen's water in June has a high of 66 degrees. It would take a the average adult 1-2 hours in those conditions before going unconscious from hypothermia.

*** Havneholmen (literally "The Harbour Isle") is a mixed-use development located on reclaimed land off Kalvebod Brygge in the harbor of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located just east of the shopping centre Fisketorvet from which it is separated by a narrow canal, although it is annexed to mainland Kalvebod Brygge at its southern end. - Source: Wikipedia

*^ The S-train is a type of hybrid urban and suburban railway. Copenhagen S-train connects the city centre, other inner and outer boroughs and suburbs with each other. The average distance between stations is 2.0 km, shorter in the city core and inner boroughs, longer at the end of lines that serve suburbs. Of the 85 stations, 32 are located within the central parts of the city.

/AN: The Bryggebroen is a bicycle and pedestrian bridge connecting Kalvebrod Brygge and Islands Brygge, and some 5,000 couples have put padlocks on it as a testament to their relationship since the bridge was built in 2006. - Sourced from article written in June, 2015./


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Part One

The moment they had slipped through the doorway to Heero's apartment Duo had managed to claw the buttons off of the front of his partner's soaked button down shirt. Once the door clicked closed behind them he slammed Heero against the inside of the door and pinned him against it with his own slippery, wet body. He could hear his partner's breathing quicken as he pressed his hands against his exposed upper torso and let his fingers ghost over the former Wing pilot's now very hard, dark pink nipples. He buried his face against Heero's neck and lapped at the chilled skin there before running his tongue up its length to his earlobe. He bit roughly just to hear Heero groan from the pain.

The bite had had its desired effect. Duo could feel Heero's growing arousal against his hip. He smiled and suckled at his bruised earlobe while his fingers explored the sides of Heero's tightly muscled torso.

"Promise you'll never leave me," Duo whispered into his ear as he leaned against his partner harder, forcing him roughly against the door. "I don't care what the rest of your plan is, as long as you don't leave…"

Heero was working his fingers carefully down the front of Duo's shirt, deftly unbuttoning his uniform beneath his unzipped Preventer jacket.

"You're not going to like the answer I'm going to give you," Heero said softly, his voice sounding distant in darkened room. Duo scowled and rocked his own rock hard crotch against Heero's forcefully and nipped his ear again. Heero's unrestrained moans were driving him insane. He felt the Japanese man's muscles winding tighter as he was being pinned down.

"Then you better tell me what I wanna hear," Duo murmured into his ear before letting his hands dart up to pinch the Japanese agent's taut nipples roughly. He heard Heero attempt to stifle a groan and couldn't help but smile. "Maybe I can fuck some sense into you?"

Duo could feel Heero's hands hesitate against his abdomen before they lifted to grasp the front of his Preventer jacket.

"I need you to do something for me," his partner said in a surprisingly feeble voice. The uncharacteristic weakness in his tone had caught Duo off guard. He let off some of the pressure he had been using to pin him against the door and pulled back to look him in the eyes.

"I'd do anything for you," Duo replied honestly. He tipped his head down to rest his forehead against Heero's and gave him his sincerest smile. Hadn't he proven that to him by now? He had saved him from drowning at the naval base. He had rescued him from the military hospital, and retrieved his Gundam for him, and supported him through every battle and mission they had ever been given. He had followed him undercover on countless missions and had lain next to him on cold nights and shared his body heat with him. He had killed a man to protect him. He had joined with him through Wing-One. He had tested with ZERO because he had asked him to. Duo would do anything for him, all Heero had to do was ask.

"Wait for me. I need you to wait for me," Heero said in a low, flat tone. Duo could see his dark, cobalt blue eyes gazing up into his own with a subtly questioning expression. "A year. Would you be able to wait that long?"

"Wait, what?" Duo's previous heightened state of arousal was beginning to deflate with every word. He pulled his face away from Heero's to take in his entire expression. He was staring at him, waiting expectantly for him to answer. Duo wasn't sure he wanted to agree to something without knowing what the hell it was. "Is… is this the Plan B you've got? A year? What the fuck takes a year? Would ya stop being so fucking cryptic all the time and just tell me?"

He stared wide-eyed as Heero lifted his hands to cup the sides of his face. He was expecting him to kiss him, but instead the former Wing pilot just held him gently and appeared to be studying his expression closely. "Howard is refitting a ship. It is in the asteroid belt*. He and Professor G hid it there right before the start of Operation Meteor**. It was their Plan B, and now it is going to be ours."

Duo blinked and shook his head. "Wait, a ship? What kind of ship? What are you talkin' about, and what does this have to do with you and your plan?"

He felt Heero's thumbs brushing his cheeks softly. "I'm going to let them freeze me."

Duo stared at him for a long moment, completely bewildered. "What? What the fuck!?"

"The new plan is that we steal the Gundam and Relena." Heero said flatly, but Duo could see a shimmer of excitement coursing through his dark eyes. "I am going to let them freeze me. After a year, when Professor G's ship has been completed, Jay has arranged for the cryochamber to release me on a timer. I'm going to infiltrate Preventer's storage vault on the Lunar Base from the inside and steal Snow White Gundam and Relena in cryo and bring them to the ship."

Duo's mind was reeling and the only thing that seemed to be keeping his head on straight was Heero's hands holding his face.

Howard had another ship? Where were these guys keeping all these ships at? Who was funding these damn things? Duo knew that Howard and the scientists had been involved in Alliance building and technology before they had broken off their allegiance and joined with the colonies for the development of Operation Meteor. Had the ship been something the Alliance was working on in the past? Wouldn't they know about it?

"Wait a minute. You're suggesting we fuck over Preventer?" Duo said weakly, his mouth suddenly very dry.

Heero nodded his head and he could see the corners of his serious mouth turn up slightly to form a devious smile. Duo couldn't help but laugh at the sight of it. "You're fucking crazy. So what that they have a ship? Once you come back and fuck Preventer, what then? You'll be on their hit list forever. I thought you agreed with their mission? Why do all of this?"

Heero's expression darkened. Duo felt his hands slip from his face and rest on his shoulders. "After they refused our ARMISTICE proposal I knew I could no longer work with them. I can't trust them with the the Gundam, Wing-One or my personal A.I. You have been right about them all along, Duo. Preventer is no longer is willing to do what is necessary to maintain peace. The fact that Leonard Cadence and his people had managed to create an entire mobile suit factory right under their noses proves it. Their methods either don't work, or there is someone higher up who is being paid off to look the other way. There are too many people involved, too many people to clear with before anything can get accomplished. Relena and I have discussed this before, but last night she decided she no longer wants Preventer to be the entity to protect her on her journey into the future. She has asked me to take her with us with the Gundam."

"Wait a minute," Duo said quietly. "Relena knows about all this?"

"Yes. We discussed it last night at length," Heero said quietly. Duo saw him look down at his chest, but his mind was clearly somewhere else. "The world needs something to protect it. Someone to guide it. I know that Relena is that guiding force. I need to be the one to protect her, but something else needs to take the place of Preventer to protect the world while it waits for her return."

"So… you're saying you're making a new Preventer?" Duo was stunned. He saw Heero's eyes cast up to lock with his. The intensity behind them was absolutely stunning. There was nothing more beautiful than Heero inspired by a cause. He knew the answer to his question before the Japanese agent even spoke.

"Yes. Dr. J and the other scientists have been working on this plan for a while. It was always assumed that this intervention wouldn't be necessary during our lifetime, but clearly it is needed sooner than they thought. It was supposed to be their legacy, the last thing they were going to apply their talents to before they left this world. I need you to help them. I need you to recruit others to support the new organization, and I need you to record everything that happens for me while I am gone."

Duo frowned, reminded again that Heero was going to leave him. "That's a tall order," he said in a low, unsure voice.

"I know it is," Heero said softly. He felt his hands glide around to the back of his neck. Heero's cool fingers delved into his wet hair at his nape. The motion sent a pulsing tingle down his spine. "I can't do any of this without you, Duo. I told you before; I won't fight alongside anyone else. I can't trust anyone else."

"Shit," Duo hissed and groaned and tried to look away from Heero's pleading eyes but couldn't manage to tear his gaze from him. "You know I can't say no to you…"

"I know," Heero replied with a smile. Duo scowled and grabbed the front of his damp shirt and pulled him into a kiss in an attempt to wipe away his partner's smugness. Heero parted his lips to encourage him to deepen their exchange and Duo gladly obliged. He felt Heero's hands pulling roughly at his wet jacket and shirt. He shrugged his shoulders to assist him and began peeling his partner's wet, clinging shirt from his arms to completely expose him. He broke their kiss and pulled back to look at him. The sight of Heero shirtless, panting and staring at him and practically glowing with sexual energy was enough to resurrect Duo's former erection. It began to bulge uncomfortably against his uniform slacks and was met by the encouraging palm of Heero's hand.

He had never let anyone have so much control over him as much as he had allowed Heero. Until he had met him during Operation Meteor he hadn't let anyone but Sister Helen and Father Maxwell come in contact with him. It had taken him a long time. In the case with Heero it has taken almost a year for him to build that kind of trust. Now he needed that touch. He had become dependent on it. Now Heero was saying he was going to leave him without it for at least a year and the fact was a painful one to absorb. He wasn't happy about it, but if it meant having Heero after his dip into cryo he was willing to wait. It wasnt like he had any other choice.

His thoughts were interrupted by Heero's hand grasping him firmly through the front of his slacks. He gasped and let his body automatically react to the sudden pressure by rocking his hips against his hand.

"You're really fucked up, telling me all this shit right now," Duo grumbled as he rocked against Heero's hand again. He leaned his body against him and wrapped his arms around Heero and let his fingernails scrape across the former Wing pilot's shoulder blades. He heard Heero chuckle before he dropped his head to his shoulder and began bite and suck relentlessly into the crook of Duo's neck.

"You love this. Admit it," the Japanese pilot taunted between firm bites. Duo groaned loudly and dug his fingers into his partner's back again.

"Stop trying to eat me, you cannibal."

Heero responded with another firm bite before he grappled him around the waist abruptly and began trying to pick him up. Duo flailed in surprise and kicked his legs wildly as they left the floor. Heero had thrown him effortlessly over his shoulder before beginning to carry him through his two bedroom apartment to the room at the end of the hall. Duo had been in Heero's bedroom before but never in the second room. The Wing pilot had kicked the door open and dropped him unceremoniously onto the floor.

"Ow, fuck! What the fuck, man?" Duo grumbled as he pushed himself to his feet and rubbed his now definitely bruised ass. He looked around the room and then froze at what he saw. It was Wing-One simulation system set up in the center of a large square room, with its console system pressed against the far wall. Two pilot seats were pressed back to back in the center with the helmets resting on the floor by each seat.

"W… what the hell is this thing doing here?" Duo could barely get the words out.

He was shocked. Hadn't Heero decommissioned the system? Why was it here in his apartment?

"I stole it," Heero said in a low, matter-of-fact way before he took a seat at the command console and started booting it up.

"What are you doing? Damn it, I thought I came over here to fuck! I'm not training on that thing right now, you weirdo…"

"Sit down, Duo." Heero commanded over his shoulder as he began typing on the keyboard.

Duo grumbled a protest under his breath and reluctantly took one of the training seats as he mourned the loss of yet another spectacular hard-on. He cradled the immersion helmet on his lap and glared daggers at the back of Heero's head as the Japanese man continued working on something on the computer.

"It's all work and shit with you, Heero. Can't you give it a rest? What is the point now that you are committed to this new plan, anyway? I thought you were getting rid of this thing. What the hell use is it to you without any mobile suits, anyway?"

"Put on the helmet."

"What? Come on, man…"

"Just do it."

Duo scowled and sighed dramatically before shoving the helmet over his head. The usual darkness and muted quiet completely encompassed him. He frowned into the darkness. A long minute passed and his irritation was nearly to maximum. He was just about to pull the helmet off when he felt something tugging at the front of his slacks. He jumped as he realized it was a pair of cool hands pulling his fly open and before he could protest his pants and boxers were around his ankles.

"Heero, what the-"

 **Wing-One activated. Pilot 02, verified.** Wing-One's voice announced as Duo's vision was flooded with its bright, probing light. When the activation disintegrated he was greeted with no image at all. Once again he was plunged into darkness.

 **Pairing… Black Alpha, override. Preparing for pilot bond.**

Duo reflexively reached up to pull the helmet off but was stopped by a pair of hands grasping his wrists.

"Heero, seriously what are you fucking-"

 **Bond complete.**

Duo's body began to feel heavy with the familiar presence of Heero's thoughts forcing their way through his brain, overriding his anxiety and spreading a thin layer of calm over his repetitive questions. He felt a burning sensation beginning to tingle his fingers and toes. It gradually spread up his arms and legs. It felt strange being in Wing-One without the specialized flight suit, like he was somehow dangling over the edge of a cliff with no harnesses on.

" _ **Relax..."**_ Heero's thoughts were purring through his mind. Duo suddenly felt the heat of his own desire compounded with Heero's. His hard-on returned so forcefully it was painful. Every question that formed in his mind became cancelled out by Heero's stronger presence. He felt Heero's lust coursing through his thoughts, and he immediately realized his intentions just as Heero slid his lubricated ass hard down upon him. Duo felt Heero's pleasure multiplied by his own. He grit his teeth and tensed as he felt Heero's hands grasping his shoulders to steady himself as he began riding his lap. He felt his partner's body quivering around him and it took everything for Duo not to cum. He let his hands reflexively grab Heero's hips and tried to slow him down. His sensitivity was out of control. Every small movement he made felt doubled. His body began to overload. He felt like he was fucking and being fucked at the same time. The muscles in his legs began to spasm wildly as he tried to hold back his release.

 _Oh my fucking God…_ he couldn't breathe. He wanted to buck up into him, but knew if he lost his focus he would lose control and it would end. He didn't want it to end. _I love this. I love you…_

He felt Heero's response to his thoughts. He was encompassed by feelings of warmth, pleasure, love and unrestrained joy. He felt his heart beginning to ache from the intensity of the torrent of emotions drowning out any shred of rationality he had left.

He lost his grip on the thin reins of his self control and experienced a violent, painful climax. He felt something hot spurting against his stomach and realized Heero had came at the same time.

He couldn't stop shaking. He weakly fell back into the training seat and felt the bond between them disconnecting as Heero's mind ebbed out of his own. He could feel his partner's body still seated on top of him. His own hands hung limply at his sides and he was having trouble gaining command of them. He felt a tug at his helmet as Heero pulled it off of him and let it fall to the floor.

"Why… why're ya gonna torture me like this? I don't think I can handle you being gone for a fucking year…" Duo whispered raggedly as Heero reached around him to grab his braid from against his back. He yanked it over his shoulder and began wrapping the length of it around his hand. Duo felt like a dog on a leash, but he wasn't altogether unhappy about it.

"Wing-One recorded it for you. You can replay it anytime using this interface," Heero explained. Duo was surprised to hear his voice was wavering. He was still inside him, and he could feel Heero occasionally twitching, evidently still experiencing reverberations from their previous connection. "While I'm gone I want you to stay here and record everything that happens for me. I need you to talk to me."

"Eh? How am I supposed to talk to you from here? Aren't you gonna be up in an icicle on the moon?" Duo asked. He managed to lift a shaking hand to the back of his neck and tried to rub it but couldn't stop his uncontrollable twitching.

Heero looked up from his inspection of Duo's braid and sighed. "This Wing-One simulator is also equipped with a copy of ARMISTICE. My A.I. is here. You can report anything you want to it. News, information, feelings. I want you to talk to it as if it were me. When I come back Jay is going to upload the information back into me so it will be as if I had never left."

Duo was gawking at him. "Wait a minute, Dr. J can do that? How do you know it will work?"

Heero frowned and looked down at him with a surprisingly dark expression. "He has done it before. He had once successfully downloaded my personality into someone else. It would be easy enough to fuse my A.I.'s data into my own memories."

Duo had forgotten about Heero's clone. The thought of another Heero Yuy running around with a detonator and blowing up anything in sight really creeped him out. "Where is your clone, anyway? Dr. J wouldn't say."

Heero's frown deepened at the mention of Alpha, the clone he had competed with to become the champion for Operation Meteor. He turned his face away from him. "I had to destroy him," he murmured somberly.

Duo felt guilty for the relief he felt at Heero's admission. He didn't have to worry about running into another Heero Yuy anytime soon, and somehow that was oddly reassuring. "Sorry man."

"I'm not. He should have never existed." Heero said plainly before turning back to regard him for a moment before pulling away from him to stand up. Duo winced as he was forced to disengage with his partner.

He watched as Heero walked naked across the room and sat down to do something at the Wing-Zero's controls.

"So… wait a minute. When you're gone you want me to hook up to this thing and talk to you… um, the A.I.?"

"Yes," Heero said as he typed. "Treat it as if it were me."

Duo scowled and tried to pull his pants back up but couldn't keep his disoriented head from swimming. "I'm not fucking that thing," he replied.

Heero stopped typing and began to laugh in a way Duo hadn't heard in a very long time.

Part Two

Duo watched as two technicians were fiddling with the enormous cryostasis capsules in the center of the Preventer vault. The vault was little more than a square, bare room lined with the appropriate support equipment to maintain the two subjects in a suspended state until God knew when. Well, Duo knew when but he wasn't divulging that information to anyone. He felt Noin's presence beside him as they waited for the Dr. J and his assisting physicians to finish preparing Heero and Relena in a nearby room.

"Are you sure you want to be here, Duo? Are you going to be okay?" Noin asked him quietly, her voice inflected with worry. Duo shrugged and continued to stare at the tubes.

"Not like I can do anything about it now, can I?" He said in a fake bitter voice. He crossed his arms over his chest for good measure and feigned a pout.

"I'm sorry. I really am," she said quietly beside him. Duo frowned. He didn't like deceiving Noin like this but he knew it was necessary. He had a feeling that she liked the plan as much as he did. He had always liked Noin. She was one of the smartest, most level headed women he had ever met. She was a great mobile suit pilot, and it was a shame that she wasn't given her own suit to fight. He didn't know why she was only taking a supporting role in Preventer. The lady could pilot a mobile suit better than her old boyfriend Zechs, wherever he was.

"Yeah, well it is a little too late for apologies now, huh?" He said halfheartedly before leaving the rest of the conversation to die in the silence between them. He peered his eyes at the wall behind the capsules and saw that there was a barely visible seam there. He assumed that was where they were keeping the now completed Snow White Gundam and its array of secret weapons.

He sighed heavily and rubbed the side of his sore neck. He could feel the tender bruises Heero had given him there from the night before. Ever since they had officially started dating the guy had gotten really bitey. Duo supposed it was because now there wasn't a risk of someone noticing them and there being any questions to avoid. It had become common knowledge that they were in a relationship, even around Preventer. Normally they were discouraged from dating within the agency but everyone appeared to feel sorry for them and no reprimand had been filed.

Duo lifted his hand to his mouth and stifled his smile. From an onlooker's perspective he appeared to be holding back a sob. He glanced to his left and saw Une speaking to Dorothy Catalonia who was dressed in a short black dress with a veil fixed over her eyes. She looked like she was attending a funeral.

He could see Une cast a wary eye in his direction. He had been keeping a close eye on him, no doubt unhappy that he was there but not so completely heartless as to deny him one last goodbye to see his friend off into eternity.

Finally the door to the side room opened and Dr. J hobbled out of it, followed by Relena wearing nothing but a gauze sleeves over her chest and pelvis. She was beautiful. Duo watched as her lithe but strong body strode across the room with determination past a row of statesmen and people he assumed were her rich friends. Duo saw Dorothy dabbing her eyes beneath her veil with a white handkerchief. Relena cast he a small, reassuring smile as she passed but then her face returned to its businesslike mask as she approached her capsule. She was looking down at it with a cool expression.

Duo felt horrible for her. How could a girl like her think that her life required her to sacrifice her own happiness and ability to live? He felt a sudden surge of respect for her. She was so young, and yet willing to give up everything in the name of peace. He didn't agree with her logic, but he could definitely appreciate her strength and resolve and bravery for taking on such a daunting task seemingly on her own.

He saw Heero walking out of the side room out of the corner of his eye. He strode with his usual nonchalance towards his own capsule but paused just at the foot of it and looked at him. Duo blinked with surprise and watched as Heero began gesturing at him with a series of unfamiliar hand movements.

 _What the…_

Once Heero was done gesturing at him Duo could see a small half smile transform his face before he turned to casually step into his chamber.

Duo's mind was racing. _What the hell was that?_ Heero hadn't told him he was going to do something like that before he went under. Suddenly Duo realized what he had done. He had said something to him in sign language.

"I don't know sign language!" He suddenly exclaimed, his voice startling Noin and the people around him. He saw Heero reclining back into the capsule as the glass top began slipping up over him to seal him inside. The two technicians assisting Heero were looking up from their tasks with confusion at the chaos Duo was whipping up in the audience. "Heero! Wait a minute!"

Duo started to run towards the capsule. He couldn't just let it go, he had to know what he said. If he had to wait a whole year to find out what it meant he would go insane.

He could see Relena pausing in her own recline as he ran towards the capsules. Noin had tried to grab him but he had slipped out of her grasp and nimbly dodged two armed guards before skidding to a stop beside the clear lid of Heero's tube and banged on it hard. Heero was smirking up at him as he lie there.

"What the fuck did you say!?" Duo yelled into the glass as one of the technicians and a guard began trying to pry him off. He could see the former Wing pilot's hands lifting and gesturing again. Duo frantically clawed at the top to stay long enough to see him finish his statement just as the capsule was being filled with a pale grey clathrate-forming gas.

"Get him back!" Une was barking orders at the guards as they began dragging Duo backward towards the exit. "Mister Maxwell, control yourself!"

Duo sighed and went limp to let the guards haul him off. He could see Relena sitting in her capsule being reassured by her scientists as he cleared the exit. The guards tossed him in a room and locked him inside until he could be 'dealt with'. Once they had left he grabbed his phone from his pocket and frantically began looking up each gesture Heero had given him before he went under.

The first gesture he had made a "V" symbol with his palm facing inward and had held it up to his face in front of his eyes. "See," Duo muttered to himself. The second gesture had been an index finger pointed at him. "Easy, that had to be 'you'. So, 'see you'."

He thumbed through his search engine for the next gesture. And the next. And the next. And the final one before sitting back against the wall on the floor with a grin.

"See you on the other side," he muttered quietly to himself. Heero had used one of Duo's favorite phrases he often used before he went out on a mission. He started to snicker, and his snicker evolved into a full on gut busting laugh. He decided he would learn sign language before Heero got back so he could use it to tell him he was fucking jerk.

Part Three

"He's just ridiculous, you know? What is wrong with guys? Why can't they just put the damn toilet seat down, right? Is it that much to ask?" Hilde was giving Duo the classic complaint over the webcam with flourish of her hands. "Seriously, you were just as bad!"

"Me? Well, how about you ladies start putting the damn thing up? It goes both ways. Wanna complain about us getting piss on the seat…" Duo argued with a grin. He could hear her scoffing through the speakers.

"How would you like it if you woke up to take a piss in the middle of the night and had your ass drop into cold toilet water?!" Hilde wailed. Duo laughed and shook his head before sitting back to make himself comfortable. Once Hilde got going it usually took a while to make her point. An hour later she had finished complaining about her new boyfriend and they had said their goodbyes.

He disconnected the chat with a sigh and snapped the laptop closed before looking around Heero's apartment that was now partially filled with his own odds and ends he had imported in from X-18999. The keys to his Cobra Mustang were hanging on a hook beside the door with the caricature of a hairy bigfoot on the keychain smiling lazily up at anyone who would enter. Not that anyone had ever been over there but Duo.

It had been eight months since Heero had been frozen and stored in the vault on the Lunar Base. The time had been dragging but Duo had tried to keep himself busy with work at Preventer, just biding his time. When he wasn't working he was in the gym or back in the apartment working on the tasks Heero had left behind.

He got up and stretched his sore arms over his head and sighed at the aching pain in his chest. _Maybe I overdid the free weights today,_ he thought with a sigh. He was still wearing his gym clothes. He tugged his shirt off over his head and tossed it onto the arm of the grey, modern couch before shuffling into the kitchen in nothing but his shorts and socks to raid the fridge. Two bowls of Golden Grahams later he was dropping the empty bowl into the sink. He paused to jut his now full stomach out and gave it an experimental jiggle with both hands. It didn't move. He snorted and let it deflate to reveal his now sharpening six pack abs he had been obsessively working out for the past eight months and smirked with satisfaction. He walked over to the laptop and opened it again. He opened his e-mail and smiled at the message pinned to the top of his inbox.

It was an e-mail Heero had sent him before he was put into cryostasis. Duo had found it there the morning after they had put his friend under. He opened it and clicked the lone blue hyperlink with the first fifty digits of Pi written as the link text. It activated a page that was directly linked to Heero's private server. As he did a music player illuminated the screen with a long playlist of songs highlighted to the right.

The first track automatically began to play "Red Barchetta" by Rush. He had listened to this playlist every day after work for the past 246 days, but it it still gave him butterflies every time. He grabbed the small, red galvanized key hanging around his neck from a thin silver chain and rolled it between his fingers gently as the song belted out of the laptop. Eventually he got up, washed his bowl and grabbed his discarded shirt and tossed it in the bedroom in his laundry basket before approaching the door at the end of the hall.

The Wing-One simulator was just as Heero had left it. The computer was waiting on standby. Duo tapped the power button as he walked past it and took his seat in the nearest pilot seat and pulled the immersion helmet over his head. The familiar pull and tingle of energy began to assault his brain as Wing-One paired and bonded him to Heero's A.I. in ZERO. He no longer required music focus with the ZERO system. After over two hundred consecutive logins connecting to it had become no problem at all.

 **Pilot - Aurora Bond, activated.** Wing-One announced.

" _ **Duo,"**_ Heero's monotonous A.I. greeted him. Duo smiled and leaned back casually against the training seat and pulled his legs up sit cross-legged on the base.

"Hey, bud. Wufei called me today, said that the launch chute from the ship was having some problems but they are going to redesign the pneumatic brake on the end of the runway that stops the launch arm to make it more secure… and um… lemme think about what else happened. Oh, Quatre and Trowa finally got back from their delayed honeymoon. Trowa sent us one of those postcard things where they were sticking their heads through those wooden cutouts so that it looks like they have different bodies. Trowa was a hula girl and Quatre was a fat, sunburnt old guy. Heh, it was pretty ridiculous. I'll make sure to bring it with me when I come pick you up."

" _ **Understood,"**_ Heero's A.I. replied stonily. Duo smirked and tried to think what else he needed to report on.

"Sally and Noin are now training new pilots to work with our old upgraded Taurus suits. I'm still banned indefinitely from going anywhere near the things. I did see one of the new kids at headquarters while he was getting his clearance processed. Made me feel real old. Fuckers are tiny. I mean, they looked like babies. Did we ever look like that?"

" _ **You did,"**_ Aurora replied. Duo scowled but couldn't help but laugh at the systems attempt at humor.

"Yeah well, new kids. Oh and the ESUN passed another resolution banning EMP research. They also still have their rules against unlawful surveillance, which put some heat on Quatre for a little bit for the surveillance scanner he made on X-18999. Not that it matters, cuz I am pretty sure our making a new intervention organization is super fucking illegal anyway, so… lemme see. Oh! Speaking of which, Wufei and I came up with a name for the group, finally. Dr. J seemed to like it, too. We're gonna call ourselves Ouroboros. I got the idea from Wufei's clan tattoo. Did you know he had a tattoo? How long have I known that dude and never saw him shirtless? You know what that is right? Big snake-dragon thing?"

" _ **Ouroborous, a symbol depicting a snake or dragon eating its own tail. Symbolises eternity, infinity or the continued cycle of life and death."*****_

"Yeah! That thing. And it sounds really badass…" Duo said happily. "Milo is doing well. After Wufei left his job at the college he dropped the cat off on L2 so he could stay with Hilde. Just don't think a spaceship hiding in outer space is a place for a cat. I got to see him today when I talked to Hilde on webcam. She has a new boyfriend. He sounds like a real prick, but what can ya do, right? I may need to go straighten the guy out if he keeps giving her grief."

" _ **Assault and battery is a misdemeanor offense,"**_ Aurora reminded him. Duo shrugged.

"Yeah, well, it would be worth the risk if it meant making sure the guy doesn't hurt Hilde, ya know? Besides, I am pretty sure if assault and battery were that big of a deal I could have you put in jail for 50 years or more for throwing me around back in the day."

" _ **I never hurt you intentionally."**_

"Bullshit!"

" _ **You fell onto my fist."**_

"Wait, what? No I didn't! Dude that was the worst uppercut I ever took in my life. You didn't even try to hold back!"

" _ **Ha. Ha. Ha."**_

Duo chuckled. "Okay, stop the weird laughing thing it is creeping me out. Anyway, oh! I forgot to mention that some wacky professor from L1 came out with a study about Newtypes. Ironic, right? He said he has some kid born on L1 who he claims is the first example and specimen of a space evolved advanced human being. He even is using the word "Newtype" in his paper. Shit is all over the news. I guess I was surprised. After everything Relena was saying when you were laid up, I thought they would have cited that 'other cases had been identified' and that this kid was the first study or whatever. Guess that means you and I are officially Newtypes since that is now a scientific term instead of a myth. I told Quatre about what Dr. J said and he told me he wasn't interested in knowing if he was one or not. I think he's scared of being considered different or more superior than everyone else."

He sighed and let his hands rest on his bent knees. "Quatre finally got all of his money and stock back from Leonard Cadence. The guy is in a prison now somewhere on the South American continent. He was trying to work out a pardon for Vincent Tull's son Ira, and they lessened his charges and he should be out of prison in a year or two. He said he still isn't sure if he wants to join Ouroboros yet, he really still feels obligated to head his father's business and I don't blame him. Trowa said he was down for helping with the maintenance for Snow White when you finally bring it in. He said Quatre is gonna send over all of his personal research on EMP and non-lethal weapons. I guess his guys developed this really cool disruptor system he wants us to try out, which sounds cool. We already started installing the surveillance program on the ship's servers."

" _ **Train today."**_

"Man, look! I work full time, ya know? I can't be training on this thing all the time."

" _ **Your focus needs improvement."**_

"Tomorrow. I promise, I'll do it tomorrow. I am exhausted. I spent all day resorting the evidence stocks again because Une wanted everything labeled with salmon colored labels instead of beige ones. I swear she likes to see me suffer."

" _ **Kill her."**_

"Heh? What?!"

" _ **Ha. Ha. Ha."**_

"You know, even as a robot you're still a sick fuck."

" _ **Ha. Ha. Ha."**_

"Stop laughing like that!"

" _ **One hundred and nineteen days remaining."**_

"Yeah, I know. I never stopped counting." Duo replied with a small smile. "Well I gotta hit the hay. Talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

" _ **Yes."**_

Duo always hesitated at the end of his conversations with Heero's A.I. He normally didn't have a problem with the rest of the banter back and forth but there was just something off about telling a machine you loved it. However, he knew that eventually Heero would be getting this information and he would have said it to the real Heero if he were sitting there with him.

"I love you," Duo said quietly.

" _ **Affirmative."**_

Epilogue:

It has been 365 days since Heero had been put into cryostasis on the Lunar Base and Duo was tired of waiting for him. He began pacing around the Lennon^* listlessly The ship was more like a small floating compound and mobile control base rather than a battleship like Libra had once been. Duo had only arrived a week before Heero was due to be there and had received the grand tour from Dr. J and Wufei who had been living on the ship by then for months working to upgrade it with the scientists. It had everything they could ever need, and more technology than Duo had ever seen in one place.

He had asked Dr. J about where it all came from and who had paid to make it. He had been surprised by his answer. Apparently the real Heero Yuy, the pacifist politician, had been the mastermind behind the plan in the first place. He had hoped to contribute his wealth and assets to developing peaceful resolution technologies and non-lethal methods of disarmament. The old doctor wasn't sure if his assassins knew about his plans. Dr. J had known of the pacifist Heero Yuy's plans from the beginning. He had told Duo that ever since his assassination anonymous donations of technology and money began to pour into secured funds now maintained by a living relative who lived secretly somewhere on Earth. Duo had seen Dr. J receiving transmissions in code from Earth and assumed they were from whoever that was. He was discouraged to ask about it any further.

The identity of the real Heero Yuy's one living ancestor^** was nowhere on Duo's radar at the moment. He sulked into a narrow lounge area beside an enormous observation window and sat down lightly in a plush white chair beside it and tugged at the tight neck of his navy blue spacesuit. The partial gravity caused his long braid to bounce up weightlessly in the air for a few extended seconds before settling across the back of the seat. He looked down the white circular dragon Ouroboros stitched over his right breast and lifted a finger to trace the circle a couple of times before he grabbed the zipper against his throat and tugged it open to give him some breathing room. He sucked in a few anxious breaths before fishing out Heero's key on his necklace from inside his suit. He rolled it between his forefinger and thumb slowly and stared out the window at the dense field of asteroids that surrounded them.

"He should be here any minute," Wufei's voice permeated his thoughts from behind him. He saw the Chinese man glide beside him before settling to a sit on the arm of his chair. He had crossed his arms over his own matching space suit and was looking through the observation glass. Duo looked up and saw that his normally brutally tight ponytail was loosened some. Wufei's hair had grown quite a bit since he had left the college to come work out on Lennon and Duo thought it suited him. A few stray tendrils floated gently on either side of his face, the ends tickling the tops of Wufei's cheekbones as he spoke. "Why don't you go down to the docking hangar?"

"I don't wanna come off too desperate," Duo replied with a shrug. He saw Wufei tilt his head down to look at him. A thin, angled eyebrow lifted at him in response. Duo laughed.

"I'm tired of seeing you moping around here like some lovesick fanboy. Get out of here." Wufei said with a forced snarl. Duo grinned at him and pushed himself up from the chair and darted down the narrow hall towards the mobile suit hangar. As he floated toward it he could hear the loud sirens of the airlock of the hangar being opened to the vacuum of space. He launched himself off of the nearest wall to gain and slammed hard against the sealed hatch to the hangar. He peered through the porthole window and saw the enormous presence of Snow White Gundam slowly dropping itself to a stand. It was clutching an unusual looking rifle that Dr. J had referred to as his "elemental beam cannon" and in the opposite hand it was holding a capsule enveloped by a metallic shield that had been designed in the shape of a rose. ^***

It began gently placing the rose on the hangar floor as the airlock sealed behind it. Duo waited impatiently as the red warning lights continued to flash indicating that the hangar was still unstable. After what felt like an eternity the alarms died down and the lights shifted to yellow, and then to green as internal life support had resumed. He shoved the hatch open. His body became weightless as he passed into the hangar and he wasted no time kicking off of the high catwalk railings to float down to the ground where Relena's capsule was lying at the Gundam's feet. He peered inside through the frosted windows and saw that she was just as she had been a year ago when he saw her enter it. Her face was relaxed and serene as she hung suspended in a cryostatic sleep. He looked up at the mobile suit and gawked at the glistening folded wings against its back. He had read very little about this suit. Dr. J wasn't willing to give up his trade secrets to just anyone.

The chest of the suit shifted and silently parted. Heero slipped out slowly. Duo saw his eyes checking the capsule before settling on him. Duo grinned widely and made a few practiced gestures in sign language. _You're a fucking jerk,_ he signed quickly but smiled throughout the gesture.

He could see Heero smirk from his perch on the mobile suit's chest. He let his hands slide carefully across himself and through the air before pointing at him. _**I missed you, too.**_

Duo scowled. How could he miss him? For Heero the experience had lasted less than a day!

"Alright, you kids. It's time to get to work!" Dr. J said from high above them on a catwalk. Duo could see that he was flanked by Howard and Professor G both in Ouroboros space suits.

"Your download with Aurora will have to wait. We have a mission for you and the Gundam," Professor G said in a hoarse, dynamic voice.

Duo looked up and saw Heero nod his head and straighten at the mention of an assignment.

"Mission accepted."

* * *

Footnotes:

*Our solar system has a vast asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter.

** Gundam Wing Episode Zero, in Duo's first story there is a short unexplained scene that takes place in AC 192 where Professor G and what appears to be Howard have a discussion on the moon. They are standing in front of a dark, triangular object and one of them says "With this spaceship, we could've gone beyond the solar system. But it's of no use to us now. We'll just let is sleep until its day comes." It more than likely is Battleship Libra, but for the purposes of this fic we will pretend it was something much cooler.

*** Wufei's Clan on L5 was the Long Clan (Dragon Clan).

^* John Lennon, singer and songwriter, co-founder of the Beatles and a famous British pacifist.

^** (hint) Treize Kushrenada was the real Heero Yuy's great-nephew.

^*** Frozen Teadrop, Relena's capsule is shaped like a rose with Heero's visage sculpted at the top. (Creeeepy.)


	41. Author's Note

Author's Note:

You made it to the end! Congratulations! Thank you for reading this story, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. This was a warm up piece for a series that I wanted to write for a while but never had the motivation. Now that I have been able to delve into the realm of Frozen Teardrop as much as the available translations will allow I have found the motivation to "fix" some of the things I don't agree with about the new series continuation. (Namely the cryo part.)

The main theme for this fic was friendship (ahem, the title). I wanted to explore the different types of friendships the pilots could have with one another.

Another thing I wanted to play with was was how Duo perceives what is going on around him. Early on in the story he reflects on how his relationship with Heero wasn't traditional like the one he had with Hilde. He failed to fully grasp all of the small nuanced things Heero had been doing for him for some time before he came to his realization that the relationship between them could be just as deep and meaningful as any traditional relationship could. I find this tendency to compare things a common thing for Duo. In the show he is comparing people, places and things to others all the time in the show.

In this story he is dependent on Wufei to help him straighten out his life and make positive choices, and Hilde for emotional support. Duo relies on all of his friends for different things and values them greatly though he doesn't always confide everything he should to them.

The sign language thing is derived from the need to have another level of communication. This story has Duo and Heero communicating in a variety of ways, which I found to be fun (Wing-One, Verbal, Intimate, Jokes, and messages on devices). I wanted them to have a way to communicate privately in later stories. Sort of like a secret(not so secret) language. Can't hurt to be able to silently talk on mission, right?

It is 0330 here and I had considered writing out more of my fan theories here but I am wasted, but I didn't want to put off posting this massive conclusion any longer.

I will be taking a break from writing to attend a local anime convention as well as visit with family, but intend on continuing this story early February now that the stage is set in a series that will include missions, flashbacks of the time passed before Heero was set in cryo, as well as time jumps to canon scenes from the series and manga to try and tie all of the old and new together into a more palatable story than Frozen Teardrop has presented thus far.

Also, if you enjoy mobile suits, tech and science fiction the next story in this series is going to be extremely heavy with it. Wing-One, ZERO AURORA and the pilot's capability to Join through the system will be major factors in the following plotline. Heero is going to finally be able to stay true to his word that he will no longer have to kill (poor baby…) but that doesn't mean he can't fight for what he believes in and babysit ice pop Relena at the same time.

Also, if anyone out there in fandom land is a fan of 00Gundam there will be a lot of stealing from that series, considering Lennon is a blatant ripoff of CBS-70 Ptolemaios but on a more massive scale.

The concept for this ending actually came from the Super Robot Wars Z2 games where it is revealed that Jay Null (Dr. J) along with other various Gundam Scientists were all members of CELESTIAL BEING where they developed the ZERO system before leaving to go do their own things. (Celestial Being in the main organization behind the pilots in 00Gundam). That little tidbit had stuck with me for a long time, and after re-watching both Wing and 00 I decided to see if I could play with the concept. I feel like 00Gundam became the continuation Gundam Wing deserved, and Celestial Being was the organization Preventer should have been. Thus, this series was spawned!

The name Ouroboros is nod to Treize's (God rest his soul...) quote: "History is much like an _endless waltz_. The three beats of war, peace and revolution continue on forever." - the concept of cycles and infinity.

I intend on rewriting this story gradually in about a month to fix some consistency issues and small grammatical errors. I will indicate when it has been revised in the title once it is completed.

Take care, and thank you to everyone who posted support and constructive criticism, your feedback has been invaluable.

Keep an eye out for Part 2 Of Gundam Wing Ouroboros

See you on the other side.

Update: So yeah it totally isn't February yet and I got crazy and started the second part early. :O Oops. Time to wake up Heero in GWO: The Other Side Pt 2


End file.
